When a Bone Marrow Donation Connects Brothers in Arms

Life in Israel engenders unbelievable stories. The story of Elyassaf Steiner, a school principal from Tel Aviv, is a perfect example. Elyassaf was about to meet the person who donated bone marrow and saved the life of his father, Moshe Steiner. When the moment came, everyone was in for a huge surprise: The donor, P., was a close friend who served with him in reserves.

“I was going to meet someone who I know will be part of my life, because he saved my father – and I suddenly realize that I know him,” said Elyassaf, describing the moment at which his life circles merged in a way he did not imagine. P. and Elyassaf served together in an armory battalion, shared experiences, shifts and even slept in the same tent for months. In a split second, they realized that their lives were magically intertwined, and they didn’t even know about it.

Personal Closure

The story did not begin there. It began when Elyassaf’s father, Moshe, contracted a rare bone marrow disease and needed an urgent transplant. A suitable donor was found in the Dagmi Family Repository, among the personal repositories making up the Ezer Mizion National Bone Marrow Donor Registry. The suitable donor was P. P himself, a young officer who joined the Registry upon enlistment, never imagined the identity of the person he was saving. He received the call informing him of the match shortly after October 7th and he even admitted that he initially thought it was a hoax… but he quickly realized the extent of his mission.

P.’s personal story of losing his mother to cancer several years ago added another layer to the closure attained through the donation. “My mother contracted metastatic breast cancer… she managed to survive five years. Helping a friend save his father is touching, because I know what I saved him from”, shared P.

The Fateful Encounter: “A Random Donation led to an Encounter with Someone I Knew”

About a month ago, Moshe asked to meet the donor who saved his life. The entire Steiner Family came to the exciting encounter, held at the Ezer Mizion Oranit House. P. waited in a side room and he too, like Elyassaf, thought that he might recognize the recipient. “But I never imagined such an encounter”, he said. “I was told that the recipient was from Modi’in and since I too and from Modi’in, I thought I might know him and that it would be interesting. When Moshe and I embraced, I suddenly caught a glimpse of Elyassaf. I was shocked; a random donation led to an encounter with someone I knew.”

Elyassaf, who also joined the Donor Registry upon enlistment, always dreamt of being a donor himself. “I dreamt of being asked to donate, but 20 years later, the dream changed to finding a donor for my father”, he said. “P. made my dream come true. A person who was right beside me, did something wonderful for me without my knowledge and without him knowing who he was doing it for.”

A Message of Giving, Unity and Humanity

This amazing story is a powerful reminder of the importance of a bone marrow donation. “It is a significant and fateful donation, but it is really simple for the donor”, concluded P. “It takes just a minute to see if you are registered and, if not – you can join the Registry easily. And if you’re ever called upon, do not hesitate to say yes, because the time you invest in the donation is nothing compared to what it means for the patient who needs it. The more donors there are, the larger the repository and the more lives can be saved.”

Dr. Bracha Zisser, Director of the Ezer Mizion National Bone Marrow Donor Registry noted: “It is hard to describe how rare it is for a donor to suddenly discover that he saved a relative of a friend. The sense of satisfaction coming from saving a life is immense and, in this case, it is even greater.”