Maya Ben Yitzhak, a lone soldier from Chicago, saved the life of a 64-year-old Massachusetts woman after she donated her bone marrow, Ezer Mizion shared this week.
When she decided to enlist in the IDF, she registered with Ezer Mizion’s Bone Marrow Registry after doing a simple cheek swab. The organization later contacted her last year to inform her that she was a perfect match for a woman in her 60s who needed marrow.
Ben Yitzhak shared, "On my birthday, a year and a half ago, I received a notification about a match, and since then, the process has been completely smooth. I had the privilege of getting to know Amy, and we have an amazing connection. A very special connection. Being a part of this is a life-changing step. It's the greatest gift I could have asked for my birthday."
Only a year and a half after joining the registry, Ben Yitzhak readily donated her stem cells, which were sent to the United States. Her donation saved the life of Dr. Rothenberg, a Jewish woman battling leukemia.
Maya Ben Yitzhak, a lone soldier from Chicago, saved the life of a 64-year-old Massachusetts woman after she donated her bone marrow (Sagiv Belkind)
Since the life-saving donation, Dr. Rothenberg has traveled to Israel to meet with the young lone soldier who saved her life.
"When the doctor told me I had a match and she was in Israel, I said, 'Wow, that's amazing.' I thank my donor every single day. I talk to her a lot, I thank her and keep telling her how much I appreciate her," Dr. Rothenberg shared.
"Before I met my donor, I thought it took a lot of generosity and energy to agree to donate like that – to help someone from another part of the world and save their life – when you don't know who it's going to, who it's saving – and still say yes – that's incredible! Thank you very much for saying yes! Thank you very much for investing your time to save a life. And especially, thank you for saving my life."
Dr. Rothenberg has been battling multiple forms of cancer since she was first diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer in 2014.
About Ezer Mizion’s Bone Marrow Registry
The pair met at the Ezer Mizion Cancer Center in Petah Tikvah. The organization's registry is the sixth largest globally, with a sample size of 1,300,000 potential stem cell donors.
Director of Ezer Mizion's Bone Marrow Registry, Dr. Bracha Zisser, said: "There are many layers to this story. Perhaps more than anything else, the amazing story of Amy and Maya symbolizes Jewish mutual responsibility revealed in all its glory. The fact that Maya didn't think twice and decided to give life to a woman she didn't know is a model for every one of us, as 'Whoever saves one life, it is as if he saved an entire world.' Indeed, that is what Amy has done!”
“It is fitting here to thank the Boeing Company, which sponsored the cost of lab testing for Maya, which covered the $50 charge of tissue typing Maya’s cheek swab," Zisser noted. "When donors sponsor lab testing for a block of swabs, we tag those swabs. When a transplant is made from their swabs, we let the sponsor know that they have had a share in saving a life. Thank you, Boeing Company, for your lifesaving partnership, which has – until today – saved 51 lives!”
