Jay Feinberg
Encyclopedia
Jay Feinberg is a leukemia
survivor and is the founder and current director of the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation
.
Feinberg was a 22-year-old foreign-exchange analyst for the Federal Reserve in New York in 1991 when he was diagnosed with leukemia and told that a bone marrow transplant
was his only hope. A match was not found in Mr. Feinberg’s immediate family, so his friends and relatives widened their search among Ashkenazi Jews
. Feinberg's plight, along with that of Mario Cooper, a graphic design artist, and Erskine Henderson, an attorney at Skadden Arps, was featured in a New York Times article, dated December 16, 1991.
Massive screenings were organized in Jewish communities throughout North America
and Israel
. In addition, screenings were held in Belarus
(by Arnie Draiman and Bill Begal), Australia
and South Africa
.
By 1995, more than 55,000 people had been tested. Feinberg’s condition was rapidly deteriorating and only a partial match had been found. A friend in Milwaukee organized one last drive and teenager Becky Faibisoff, the last person tested, was a match. Ms. Faibisoff, whose marrow saved Feinberg’s life, now lives in Riverdale
and teaches at SAR Academy
.
Feinberg’s experience led him to devote his life to educating and encouraging people to add themselves to bone marrow registries around the world. The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, the Florida-based organization of which he is founder and executive director, seeks to increase the number of registered Jews, many of whom lack extended family because of the Holocaust.
In 2004, Feinberg was awarded the Charles Bronfman Prize for his dedication to the fight against leukemia and his service to the Jewish community. In 2005, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Yeshiva University
, along with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. In 2010, he was awarded the Jewish Community Hero Award for his inspiring service to both the Jewish community and all those in need of bone marrow transplants by Jewish Federations of North America
Mario Cooper found a bone marrow match but died from complications caused by the bone marrow transplantation.
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
survivor and is the founder and current director of the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation
Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation
The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation is one of the public bone marrow, blood stem cell and umbilical cord blood registries in the United States...
.
Feinberg was a 22-year-old foreign-exchange analyst for the Federal Reserve in New York in 1991 when he was diagnosed with leukemia and told that a bone marrow transplant
Bone marrow transplant
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cell or blood, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells, or umbilical cord blood...
was his only hope. A match was not found in Mr. Feinberg’s immediate family, so his friends and relatives widened their search among Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
. Feinberg's plight, along with that of Mario Cooper, a graphic design artist, and Erskine Henderson, an attorney at Skadden Arps, was featured in a New York Times article, dated December 16, 1991.
Massive screenings were organized in Jewish communities throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. In addition, screenings were held in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
(by Arnie Draiman and Bill Begal), Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
By 1995, more than 55,000 people had been tested. Feinberg’s condition was rapidly deteriorating and only a partial match had been found. A friend in Milwaukee organized one last drive and teenager Becky Faibisoff, the last person tested, was a match. Ms. Faibisoff, whose marrow saved Feinberg’s life, now lives in Riverdale
Riverdale, Bronx
Riverdale is an affluent residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx in New York City. Riverdale contains the northernmost point in New York City.-History:...
and teaches at SAR Academy
SAR Academy
Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy is a coeducational, private Modern Orthodox Jewish day school. The school is located in the Riverdale section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is well known for having no walls dividing the classrooms, which is part of the school's philosophy of...
.
Feinberg’s experience led him to devote his life to educating and encouraging people to add themselves to bone marrow registries around the world. The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, the Florida-based organization of which he is founder and executive director, seeks to increase the number of registered Jews, many of whom lack extended family because of the Holocaust.
In 2004, Feinberg was awarded the Charles Bronfman Prize for his dedication to the fight against leukemia and his service to the Jewish community. In 2005, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
, along with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. In 2010, he was awarded the Jewish Community Hero Award for his inspiring service to both the Jewish community and all those in need of bone marrow transplants by Jewish Federations of North America
Mario Cooper found a bone marrow match but died from complications caused by the bone marrow transplantation.
Trivia
- Feinberg graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dickinson CollegeDickinson CollegeDickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
in 1990 with a major in political science - An honorary brother of Alpha Epsilon PiAlpha Epsilon PiAlpha Epsilon Pi , the Global Jewish college fraternity, has 155 active chapters in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Israel with a membership of over 9,000 undergraduates...
fraternity - Inaugural recipient of the Charles Bronfman Prize
- Inaugural recipient of the National Marrow Donor Program's Allison Atlas Award
- Established the very first bone marrow registry and cord blood bank dedicated to recruitment in the Jewish community
External links
- Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation
- Videos about Gift of Life and Jay Feinberg
- Yeshiva University Honorary Doctorate
- 1995 Article detailing Jay's fight with Leukemia
- Hadassah International World Citizen Award
- National Marrow Donor Program Allison Atlas Award
- Inaugural recipient of the Charles Bronfman Prize
- Jay Feinberg Wins Jewish Community Hero Contest