Brooklyn, NY – Rabbis Encourage New Campaign For Expectant Mothers to Donate Their Cord Blood

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    Photos: Jay (Chaim Yosef) Feinberg, Founding Executive Director of Gift of Life holding a box contaning blood donation Kit Brooklyn, NY, In meetings with leading Rabbonim in Boro Park, the Matnas-Chaim (Gift of Life) Bone Marrow Foundation, in conjunction with the Bikur Cholim of Boro Park, stepped up its efforts for broad community acceptance of its “Roeh-Es-Hanolad” campaign. The heads of Matnas-Chaim and Bikur Cholim briefed the rabbonim on the significant number of Jews who will be saved as a result of a successful effort to enroll expectant mothers in the “Roeh-Es-Hanolad” campaign.

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    The “Roeh-Es-Hanolad” campaign is designed to encourage expectant mothers to donate their cord blood, which is then collected and frozen to potentially save a life in the future. Although it is usually discarded, cord blood is an extremely valuable resource because it is rich in blood forming stem cells.

    Matnas-Chaim, North America’s Jewish cord blood bank, is already involved in a joint program with Maimonides Medical Center to collect the cord blood. Prior to the expanded arrangement with Maimonides, Matnas-Chaim’s cord blood program was exclusively coordinated through the obstetrician’s offices, including Boro Park OBGYN where two Matnas-Chaim coordinators are on site to enroll mothers. The practice is led by Drs. Moshe and Arie Schwartz who have contributed their services to ensure the success of the program. Following the overwhelming response that Matnas-Chaim received from mothers and from other obstetricians in Boro Park to join the Matnas-Chaim program, the organization launched a new “walk-in” initiative that would allow expectant mothers to donate their cord blood on the day of delivery. Two Matnas-Chaim cord blood coordinators are stationed at Maimonides Birthing Center to facilitate the program.

    Mr. Feinberg explained the importance of the Roeh-Es-Hanolad campaign to the rabbonim by saying that it can potentially save as many as twenty percent of Jews who require bone marrow transplants and for whom no other match is possible. The rabbonim warmly endorsed the efforts of Matnas-Chaim and Bikur Cholim to broaden the acceptance of the effort in the community.

    The Matnas-Chaim and Bikur Cholim representatives met with such well known rabbonim, dayanim and poskim as Harav Moshe Friedman, Satmar Dayan; Harav Shlomo Gross, Belzer Dayan; Harav Chaim Shia Koenig, Yoker Rov; Harav Simcha Bunim Ehrenfeld, Matesdorf Rav; Harav Gavriel Tzinner, Rav of Netei Gavriel; Harav Yechiel Mechel Steinmetz, Skver Dayan and medical advisor in Boro Park for Bonei Olam; Harav Lazer Eichler, Boyaner Rav; Harav Ben Zion Strasser, Nitra Dayan; Harav Chaim Yaakov Tauber, Bobover Dayan; Harav Moshe Fogel, Gerer Dayan; Harav Ephraim Shimon Leichtag, Satmar Dayan; Harav Chaim Elazar Freidman, Tenker Rav and Harav of Bikur Cholim of Boro Park Chevra Kadisha; and Harav Sholom Noach Weiss, Dayan of Orshiv.

    In addition to Mr. Feinberg, who is himself a 13-year bone marrow transplant survivor, the delegation included Harav Shmuel Steinharter, Executive Director of Bikur Cholim of Boro Park, Harav Yitzchak Fleischer, board member of Bikur Cholim of Boro Park, Menachem Lubinsky, president of LUBICOM Marketing Consulting and Alexander Rapaport, the executive director of Masbia, the highly acclaimed soup kitchen in Boro Park.

    Matnas-Chaim facilitates bone marrow, blood stem cell and umbilical cord blood transplants for children and adults suffering from life-threatening illnesses around the world. Its services include transplant coordination, donor recruitment, patient advocacy and public education. Through targeted recruitment in Jewish communities throughout North America, Matnas-Chaim strives to overcome the loss of bloodlines following the Holocaust, a consequence that has made the search for genetically matched donors particularly difficult for Jewish patients.

    Bikur Cholim of Boro Park is a multi-faceted medical support organization for patients and their families. It provides a variety of social services as well as sponsors programs to assist financially hard-pressed families with serious medical issues. For more information, please contact the Matnas-Chaim Bone Marrow Foundation at www.giftoflife.org or call 800-9MARROW


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    22 Comments
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    Melon
    Melon
    15 years ago

    Can anyone clarify if this has anything to do with kehila cord?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    About time!! My daughter wanted to do this   Maimonides 8 years ago when she had her first child but was told it wasn’t available. In June she gave birth   Staten Island, & when I asked about it, we were told it wasn’t possible.

    This is a very important move.

    Gift of Life Donor
    Gift of Life Donor
    15 years ago

    Gift of Life is amazing! The dinner in NYC is one of the highlights of my year.

    Lock & Load
    Lock & Load
    15 years ago

    I wish i could Donate Blood….

    Robroy560
    Robroy560
    15 years ago

    Cord blood banking has been available for several years through a few companies. I learned of this from Christian friends who are against embryonic stem cell research. Cord blood takes away the issue of destroying an embryo to get stem cells. according to my friends, they paid $1500 to start along with a maintence fee per year. A small price to pay for something that may save your child or your life.

    My wife and I have already committed do this for our future children. We didn’t need the rabanim to “bless it.” However, we think it’s great that Gift of Life is running with this. We all know that saving one life is equivalent to saving the world.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Gift of Life says they only do it Maimonides. Also, Kehilla Cord takes 8 weeks to process registration, so if you plan on using them call early.

    You can also donate to the general NY blood bank and you’ll be able to use it if no one else did.

    political  analyst
    political analyst
    15 years ago

    my wife did this through kehilla cord. great org. big mitzvah. and remember the life you may be saving may be your own

    Chanie
    Chanie
    15 years ago

    I am in Gift of Life’s bone marrow registry, and they are amazing. Their cord blood bank is a natural! Too bad it wasn’t there when I had my children.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Anybody have the # to Kehilla bec. this program is only in Maimonides and I’m not delivering there.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Is Kehilla still doing this? I heard they recently stopped.

    anon for this
    anon for this
    15 years ago

    Robroy, this is a semi-public bank, so donors don’t pay. I think if the donor’s family needs the cord blood later they get it if it’s still available.

    Those who donate cord blood to private banks must fill out a questionaire just like prospective blood donors do. Generally someone who can’t donate blood can’t donate cord blood either (although minimum weight requirements don’t apply).

    anon for this
    anon for this
    15 years ago

    In my previous post, I wrote that donors to private banks need to fill out a questionaire–actually I meant donors to public banks. I’ve never banked cord blood privately so I don’t know how that works (I donated to a general public bank because no Jewish bank was available).

    Actually
    Actually
    15 years ago

    Kehila Cord

    COLLECTS FOR: Transplants

    COLLECTS FROM: Brooklyn, NY

    INTERNET: [no website]

    PHONE: 718-384-2332

    STORAGE: Community Blood Services, Paramus, NJ

    TRANSPLANT REGISTRIES: BMDW, NMDP

    DESCRIPTION:

    Kehila Cord (no website) is sponsored by Dor Yeshorim and serves the Chasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn. This is a community which has very little contact with the outside world; the program is promoted by word-of-mouth. Dor Yeshorim was founded in the 1980’s by Rabbi Josef Ekstein to offer genetic testing prior to arranged marriages, in an effort to prevent the spread of fatal hereditary diseases. Rabbi Ekstein lost four of his own children to Tay-Sachs disease. In 2005, Rabbi Shmuel Lefkowitz (718-218-8180) launched a drive in community synagogues to encourage parents to donate cord blood. The cord blood is processed and stored at Community Blood Services (part of the NMDP bank network) in Paramus, NJ. The cost of the program is borne by both the Elie Katz Umbilical Cord Blood Program and Kehila Cord. For more information, contact Kehila Cord at 718-384-2332 (office: 429 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 1121).

    Menachem
    Menachem
    15 years ago

    Gift of Life

    COLLECTS FOR: Transplants

    COLLECTS FROM: Brooklyn, NY

    INTERNET: http://www.giftoflife.org or http://www.jcord.org

    PHONE: 1-800-962-7769

    STORAGE: UMass, Worcester, MA

    TRANSPLANT REGISTRIES: BMDW, CRIR, NMDP

    DESCRIPTION:

    This bank participates in the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) cord blood bank network and is accredited by the NMDP as both a cord blood bank and a marrow donor center and affiliate registry.

    Gift of Life was founded in 1991 to seek a matching donor for leukemia patient Jay Feinberg. The grass roots search resulted in the registration of 60,000 Jewish donors. The last one tested turned out to be a perfect match! Since then, the charity has evolved into a vehicle for bone marrow donor recruitment, focused on the international Jewish community.

    In early 2005, they launched a Gift of Life cord blood program which collects from Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. The cost of the program is borne by Gift of Life fund-raising. In order for the donations to be listed on the NMDP network, obstetricians who collect for Gift of Life must undergo training and regular proficiency testing.

    The laboratory which processes and stores cord blood for Gift of Life is located at the University of Massachusetts; the laboratory director is Philip Lowry, M.D. The Gift of Life lab has accreditation with the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) and is licensed as a comprehensive tissue bank with the State of NY. Gift of Life medical director Michael Schuster, M.D. is also the director of transplant at Cornell-Weill Medical Center in NY.

    There are research publications on “HLA polymorphism” among people of Jewish heritage (go to PubMed and search on these keywords), which show that they are more likely to find a donor match in their own ethnic type, and next among other Mediterranean groups.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    What do I need to do if I’m delivering in Maimonides and I want to donate?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Anybody have the phone number?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Nice article but how does one go about it?

    mamazetzer
    mamazetzer
    15 years ago

    great org keep up the good work and the nurses that give you all the info are so helpfull in the hospitalsomeone dini she is very nice

    rebbetzin hockstein
    rebbetzin hockstein
    15 years ago

    Donating cord blood is a wonderful thing. There are agencies/services where you can register early in the pregnancy (before week 32), they send you a kit, and you put it in your suitcase to take with you to the hospital.

    Rechel mechel
    Rechel mechel
    15 years ago

    where do I reach them my wife is due in a week & I wonna donate it

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    800-9marrow

    You can only do it if she’ll be delivering in Maimonides.

    Miriam
    Miriam
    15 years ago

    The phone number for Kehila Cord is 718-218-8180. Donations can be done at many different hospitals.

    However, the key is that you need to be pre-screened – and therefore, your application takes at least two months to process (if you are due in less time than that, why not call, maybe you can do something to expedite the process such as hand-delivering the forms and picking up the kit – which I ended up doing with my first).

    Regarding the cost – many OBs will waive the cord blood collection fee for donations.