Birthright Israel reached a monumental height, with its 100,000th participant joining the registry to potentially save the life of a patient battling leukemia, lymphoma and other blood-related diseases. Mitch Linefsky, 20, from Fairlawn, New Jersey is the 100,000th donor.
This meaningful achievement is the result of a nearly two-decade partnership between Birthright Israel and the Gift of Life Marrow Registry, which offers Birthright Israel’s young participants a chance to pay it forward by joining the registry. To date, Birthright participants have matched 3,750 patients battling blood diseases, leading to 434 life-saving transplants performed.
Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children and adults battling leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell, other cancers and inherited immune disorders find matching donors for lifesaving blood stem cell and bone marrow transplants. The registry houses its own state-of-the-art stem cell collection center, biobank and laboratory.
The registry focuses its recruitment efforts on those aged 18 to 35 as younger donors are the most requested demographic by transplant centers, due to better patient outcomes. With thousands of Jewish young adults between the ages of 18 and 26 who annually participate in its trips to the Jewish state, the Birthright Gift of Life partnership is a natural fit.
“We are very proud of our longstanding, important partnership with Gift of Life,” said Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark. “We are honored to have so many of our participants and alumni committed to such a noble cause. This collaboration perfectly illustrates how the Birthright Israel experience can not only change lives, but also save lives.”
Participants on Birthright’s trips to Israel are offered the opportunity to complete a cheek swab kit and health questionnaire to enter Gift of Life’s registry. When matches are found, Birthright alumni have the opportunity to donate blood stem cells or marrow to save patients’ lives.
Hailey Brooks, a 17-year-old high school senior from Montclair, New Jersey, was diagnosed at only four months old with Severe Congenital Neutropenia. Brooks spent a childhood receiving daily injections to increase her neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, to stave off infections.
Then, in April 2020, at 15 years old, a routine blood test showed that Brooks was now battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia. She was rushed to the hospital to receive chemotherapy, and a search was immediately started to find her a matching stem cell donor.
That donor, Ethan Hornick, 23, a resident of New York City, had joined Gift of Life’s registry in 2019 while he was in Jerusalem on his Birthright Israel trip. He learned he was a match for a patient in May 2020, only weeks into the pandemic lockdown, and was initially nervous about donating during a healthcare emergency, but was committed to helping his recipient, no matter what it took.
“I just empathized so much with Hailey that even though I didn’t know her, and couldn’t imagine what she was going through, I thought of her as if she was one of my little sisters,” said Hornick. “I knew I would do anything to help if I could.”
“I’m just so grateful for having a second chance at life I cannot find the words,” said Brooks. “It is very emotional – I was reborn and I cannot thank Ethan enough. I also would like to thank Gift of Life and Birthright Israel for facilitating this.”
Hornick is a consultant at a global strategy and communications firm. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2021. Brooks is a student and camp counselor from New Jersey, and her interests include skiing, making videos and playing tennis. She is considering pursuing a degree in biology in college.
“It is an honor to have partnered with Birthright Israel for nearly 20 years on this life-saving endeavor,” said Gift of Life Marrow Registry Founder and CEO Jay Feinberg. “The mitzvah of pikuach nefesh is among the greatest of all good deeds that one person can do for another. An incredible one in eight Birthright participants has joined Gift of Life’s registry. That’s 100,000 out of 800,000 Birthright participants! Four hundred and thirty-four donors have saved the lives of patients battling blood cancer. As a transplant recipient myself, thank you to every donor who has joined our registry to make a difference in the world.”
