Jay Feinberg
Jay Feinberg
Jay Feinberg’s Gift of Life Marrow Registry Works To Cure Blood Cancer By Finding Donors For Patients In Need
Jay Feinberg’s new lease on life began with one last, best hope. As his four-year search for a bone marrow donor was nearing its end – and Feinberg’s hope for a cure for his leukemia faded – the last person tested turned out to be his miracle match. That was 1995.
Nearly 23 years later, the organization Feinberg founded, the Gift of Life Marrow Registry headquartered in Boca Raton, has given a second chance at life to more than 3,200 patients battling life-threatening diseases.
One of the most rewarding parts of the job for Feinberg is when donors and recipients meet one year post-transplant.
“It’s a powerful and inspiring moment to witness,” he says.
Innovation is key to the organization’s success, and Gift of Life is known for many firsts, including the use of cheek swabs in lieu of blood tests. It’s also the first to use mobile, paperless registration, recently launching the first app for iOS and Android devices. It conducts more than 2,000 donor drives annually across the country, including on college campuses and at high schools, and match recipients globally.
What many people don’t realize is that the donation process also is easier and less invasive. Eighty percent donate stem cells through a procedure similar to taking blood platelets from the arm. So, there’s no need for anesthesia.
Nearly 100 conditions are now treatable, yet only half of those eligible for a transplant find a suitable match. Greater ethnic diversity in the registry is needed, and this requires more fundraising.
“We want to get to a point where every patient has an equal opportunity to receive the cellular therapy that can save their life,” Feinberg says.
Feinberg sees bone marrow and stem cell transplantation as the father of modern-day immunotherapy.
“As we move into 2018 and beyond, we are looking at ways to help even more patients, and there are many innovative opportunities unfolding that will make it possible one day to help every patient in need,” Feinberg says.
Gift of Life Marrow Registry is located at 800 Yamato Road, Ste. 101, Boca Raton. For more information, call 561-982-2900 or visit giftoflife.org.
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