Jay Feinberg
Advancing Next Generation Cell and Gene Therapies
Gift of Life Marrow Registry’s mission is straightforward: They save the lives of patients battling blood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Founder and CEO of the Boca Raton-based organization, Jay Feinberg has a personal connection to Gift of Life’s mission: He received a successful bone marrow transplant 27 years ago.
After graduating college, Feinberg was diagnosed with leukemia. He was told that because his tissue type was uncommon, he’d never find a match. “I was told to go home. They told me to prepare my bucket list and do everything I wanted while I had the chance,” he says. He went through chemo, which put him in temporary remission. But that wouldn’t keep him alive forever. “My family wouldn’t take no for an answer. We were relentless,” he says.
They organized donor drives throughout the country and around the world, where they found matches for hundreds of patients in need. “But we didn’t find my match,” he says. Feinberg was preparing for an alternate treatment when a college student volunteered to organize one final drive. The very last donor tested turned out to be Feinberg’s match, and the transplant took place shortly after.
Today, Feinberg is cured of his leukemia. He and his bone marrow donor, Becky, communicate often, and she even attended his wedding last year. “When Becky donated her marrow to me, she saved more than one life,” says Feinberg. “She is the reason Gift of Life exists today. She cared enough to save the life of a total stranger and that single action has saved thousands.”
A new documentary about Feinberg’s inspiring grassroots search for a donor, aptly called “One In A Million,” will air on public television in 2024.
At Gift of Life, they believe every person battling blood cancer deserves a second chance at life — and they’re determined to make it happen. Feinberg says that only 30% of patients have a family member who is a match. The other 70% need to find a volunteer unrelated donor. That’s why the organization is passionate about getting the public involved, whether as a donor, volunteer or financial supporter.
But Feinberg doesn’t rest on his laurels. He prides his organization on its passion for innovation. A new stem cell collection center, cutting edge cell and gene therapy laboratory and most recently, a biotech subsidiary working in the biological drug space, lead the way to facilitate next generation cell and gene therapies that will save lives well into the future.
Gift of Life Marrow Registry, 5901 Broken Sound Parkway N.W., Boca Raton, 561-982-2900, giftoflife.org, one-inamillion.org
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