Donor and Leukemia Patient Meet, Discover Surprising Community Connection
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Ariel Dahan, a leukemia patient, met his bone marrow donor Neria Cohen a year after a life-saving transplant. The meeting revealed that Cohen's donation came from a registry funded by Givat Shmuel synagogues, and Cohen himself is connected to one of these communities. This initiative, part of Ezer Mizion's "Life-Saving Communities" project, has saved hundreds of lives by encouraging community-based bone marrow registries.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Leukemia patient Ariel Dahan met his bone marrow donor Neria Cohen one year after a life-saving transplant.
- Cohen's donation originated from a registry established by three synagogue communities in Givat Shmuel.
- The donor, Neria Cohen, also has personal ties to one of the Givat Shmuel synagogues involved.
- The "Life-Saving Communities" project by Ezer Mizion has facilitated hundreds of successful transplants.
- The initiative encourages synagogues nationwide to create community bone marrow registries.
Ariel Dahan, a 52-year-old father of six from Netanya who was diagnosed with leukemia, met for the first time with his bone marrow donor, Neria Cohen from Lod. The emotional reunion took place at Beit Oranit, an Ezer Mizion facility in Petah Tikva, approximately one year after the life-saving transplant.
During their meeting, a surprising connection emerged: Cohen's donation was facilitated by a community registry established by three synagogue communities in Givat Shmuel. Even more remarkably, Cohen himself occasionally prays at one of these synagogues, Tzeirei Hadar, alongside his in-laws, who were among those who helped fund the community registry.
Dahan expressed his deep gratitude to Cohen, calling him "God's messenger" who saved his life. Cohen, in turn, described the donation as a "privilege" and expressed prayers for the transplant's success. Dahan, who needed the transplant to survive, emphasized that without it, he would not have been able to continue living.
The community registry initiative, part of Ezer Mizion's "Life-Saving Communities" project, has been instrumental in saving hundreds of lives across Israel. The project began a decade ago when Nurit and Uri Cohen, after Nurit's recovery from cancer, decided to mobilize their community in Moshav Nehalim to create a registry. This initiative has since expanded to dozens of synagogues nationwide.
Yael Cohen, representing the Tzeirei Hadar community, highlighted the profound sense of mutual responsibility and the powerful reminder of core values like love, giving, and helping others. Dr. Bracha Zisser, founder of Ezer Mizion's National Bone Marrow Donor Bank, noted that this meeting exemplified the immense significance of the "Life-Saving Communities" project, which enables communities to directly contribute to saving lives.