From Saving Lives in a Tank to Saving a Life at Home

A Bone Marrow Transplant is the Only Change

Hodaya Rosenfeld contracted leukemia when she was 2 months old. After her diagnosis, the doctors informed her parents that her only chance was a bone marrow transplant from a suitable donor. A search on the ‘Ezer Mizion’ Bone Marrow Donor Registry found two potential donors with a full match – Nadav and Noam, 23-year old twins who joined the Registry upon enlistment. The both received a phone call from the Registry and took on the mission. After extensive testing (where Nadav and Noam were found to be identical twins, a fact they were previously unaware of), Nadav was randomly selected to be the donor.

Expectation toward Meeting the Donor

The donation was successfully performed two years ago and, after a long wait, Hodaya’s family decided to contact the Registry in order to meet its donor. Nadav was in reserves during “Iron Swords” and the meeting was slightly postponed. “Meeting the person who saved Hodaya was important to me”, said Moria, Hodaya’s mother, “it’s hard to describe our gratitude to him and ‘Ezer MiZion’. We take nothing for granted. Oranit House became our home and the people there accompanied us. We always felt that we were in good hands.”

First Conversation after Discharge to the Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Registry

Nadav was recently discharged after a long period of intense combat and his first call after discharge was to the Registry in order to schedule the exciting meeting that he so looked forward to. “It’s an amazing feeling that can’t be described in words”, said Nadav at the encounter, “I was in reserves for two months, a period during which death and evil permeated our lives, and hearing the news was a beacon of light. The life lesson I learned is that, even when the goal is not clear, sometimes your good deeds make your path fulfilling.”

“Saving a life is an amazing feeling”, said Dr. Bracha Zisser, Director of the Ezer Mizion National Bone Marrow Donor Registry, “even more so when saving the life of a baby. The ability to donate to a toddler with an entire life ahead of her, is a supreme emotion that we all saw in Nadav. That is the message received by each and every one of the potential donors who receive the call of being a match. Do not hesitate – it is a simple and easy process, after which you receive much more than you give – a great sense of fulfillment.”