International Life Saving Jewish Guarantee

Maya’s Journey: From Chicago to Israel – and from there, to Saving a Life

Maya Ben Itzhak decided to immigrate from Chicago on her own and serve in the IDF. Upon her enlistment, she joined the Ezer MiZion Bone Marrow Registry and never imagined that, in just a few years, she’d be saving the life of a woman in the U.S. Last year, on her 23rd birthday, Maya received a call from Ezer Mizion, telling her that she was found to be a perfect match to save the life of a woman in her sixties.

Without knowing the Recipient – Maya said ‘Yes’ and Saved a Life

Ben Itzhak took on the mission and, like all donors, did not know who the recipient was. Her donation was actually sent urgently to the U.S., where it saved the life of a Jewish doctor in Massachusetts – Dr. Amy Rothenberg, who contracted leukemia and urgently needed a bone marrow donation. Dr. Rothenberg visited Israel last month and the two women first met at the Ezer Mizion Oranit House. “When the doctor told me that I had a match and that she is in Israel, I said ‘Wow, that’s amazing!’ Yes, it’s amazing to help someone from somewhere around the world, to say ‘Yes’ without knowing the recipient and saving a life.”

A Moving Encounter at Oranit House

A moving encounter was held at Oranit House, when Dr. Amy Rothenberg, a 64-year old Jewish doctor from Massachusetts, first met the woman who donated her bone marrow and saved her life. Rothenberg has been coping with cancer for 11 years. In 2014, she contracted breast and ovarian cancer and recovered. Last year, she was diagnosed with leukemia, needing an urgent bone marrow transplant to save her life.
After searches in international bone marrow registries failed to produce a suitable donor, a full match was found in the Ezer Mizion National Bone Marrow Donor Registry – the world’s largest Jewish repository with over 1,300,000 potential donors. The donation was found in the Boeing Registry – one of the personal repositories making up the national registry.

On her 24th birthday, Maya Ben Itzhak received a call from Ezer Mizion, informing her that she was found to be a match to save a woman’s life. Maya volunteered without hesitation. Following the harvesting process in Israel, the donation was urgently sent to the U.S. and Dr. Rothenberg underwent the bone marrow transplant in Boston. The transplant was a success and Dr. Rothenberg recovered.

After a year of not knowing anything about each other, Maya first heard of Dr. Rothenberg, who also discovered the identity of the woman who had saved her life. Amazingly, Dr. Rothenberg’s donor also had roots in the U.S. and, by immigrating to Israel and enlisting in the IDF, she had saved the life of a woman living abroad. Ben Itzhak grew up in Chicago and, in 2019, she decided to immigrate to Israel in order to enlist as a lone soldier. Upon enlistment, she provided a saliva sample and joined the ‘Ezer MiZion’ National Bone Marrow Registry. Ben Itzhak served as an education NCO, was discharge and as now a speech therapy student at Tel Aviv University.

Once she recovered, Rothenberg knew she must meet Ben Itzhak. She paid a special visit to Israel and the two first met at the Ezer Mizion Oranit House.

Maya Ben Itzhak: About 18 months ago, on my birthday, I got a call about a match. Since then, the process went smoothly. I got to meet Amy and she can tell you about our amazing bond, a very special bond. Being part of something like that is life transforming. It is the greatest gift I could have asked for on my birthday.

Dr. Rothenberg: “When the doctor told me that I had a match and that she is in Israel, I said ‘Wow, that’s amazing!’ I thank my donor every day. We talk a lot. I thanked her and told her how grateful I am. Before meeting the donor, I thought that it takes a great deal of generosity to say ‘Yes’ to someone from another part of the world and to save a life without knowing the recipient. It’s wild. Thank you for saying yes and thank you for taking of your time to save a life. And most importantly, thank you for saving my life.

A story representing the Jewish Guarantee at its best

Founder and Director of the Ezer Mizion National Bone Marrow Donor Registry, Dr. Bracha Zisser: “Amy and Maya’s amazing story reflects, perhaps more than all else, the Jewish guarantee in all its splendor. The fact that Maya did not think twice and decided to give life to a woman whom she did not know, is a model for each and every one of us because “Whoever saves a single life is as if they saved the whole world.”