A simple swab of the cheek is all it takes to be added to the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry, but the prospect of donating bone marrow can be a tricky and often scary concept for potential donors.
When Yaakov, a 26-year-old husband and father of two, was first told he was a potential donor, he declined the transplant.
Because the bone marrow donation process is conducted anonymously, Yaakov wasn’t told he was the only perfect match of the more than 200,000 registered donors.
Still, his conscience wouldn’t leave him alone. After consulting with his rabbi, Yaakov eventually complied to move forward with the transplant.
Patricia Weitsman, director of war and peace studies and a political science professor at Ohio University, was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, formerly known as preleukemia, on Nov. 29, 2010.
Because of Yaakov’s decision to become a donor, Weitsman received a bone marrow transplant on May 3, 2011 that saved her life. She is now back at OU to talk about her experience and get back to work.
Words cannot describe the emotions that Yaakov, the then-anonymous donor, left her with, Weitsman said.
“He saved my life, and he saved the life of my family,” she said. “I can’t do that for him. It’s a staggering and humbling feeling to be in that situation.”
She didn’t share his whole name to protect his privacy.
Weitsman will speak more about her experience at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at “The Gift of a Second Life: The Transplant Experience” in the Irvine Hall Auditorium. She will be joined by her primary care hematologist, Dr. William Blum, of the James Cancer Hospital’s Blood and Marrow Transplant Team at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
The Gift of Second Life is sponsored by Hillel at OU, the Department of Political Science, the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, University College, OU’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and Gift of Life.
This is the second year Hillel and OU-HCOM have partnered for events, said Nathan Denlinger, liaison for OU-HCOM and a second-year medical student.
“We have to spread the word, because there are students who are interested to help but don’t know about it,” Denlinger said.
The event, which will be held in Irvine Hall on West Green, will also kick off the fifth annual Got Swabbed? Campaign.
Hillel and students from OU-HCOM will be swabbing before and after the event.
“We just want to get people excited about it and start the campaign,” said Rabbi Danielle Leshaw, the director of Hillel.
ao007510@ohiou.edu
