The Movement for Reform Judaism

Finchley Reform Synagogue member, Sharon Berger, was diagnosed with MDS, a rare bone marrow disease towards the end of last year. To prevent leukaemia, the only treatment for MDS is a bone marrow transplant. FRS Rabbi, Miriam Bayfield, who is due to marry Mrs. Berger’s son, Jonni, later this year, is spearheading a campaign to find Mrs. Berger a suitable bone marrow donor, calling on people to “give the gift of life”.

Since hearing the devastating news that her future mother in law’s only hope of a cure was a bone marrow transplant, Rabbi Bayfield has been working with The Anthony Nolan Trust to organise a special donor recruitment clinic to enable potential donors to be added to The Trust’s register. Inspired by Sharon and the lifesaving work of the Anthony Nolan Trust, the Sternberg Centre and New North London Synagogue in Finchley have helped organise the clinic which will be held there on Sunday 25th February from 2pm – 4.30pm.

Rabbi Bayfield said: “This is extremely important for the Jewish community and means a lot to Jonni and me on a very personal level as well. Jews are more likely to be a match for other Jews and therefore we owe it to our community to be on the register. We want as many people as possible, who are willing to join the register, to come and give blood on 25 February. We also need doctors and nurses to come and take blood on the day.”

Lynsey Dickson from the Anthony Nolan Trust added: "We urgently need to recruit more volunteer donors from all ethnic backgrounds to our register. Tissue type is not random, but inherited - so patients in need of a transplant are most likely to find a compatible donor within their own ethnic community. It is so important that if you are eligible, to think seriously about joining as the more people we have registering, the more chance we have of finding those life saving matches for patients like Sharon that desperately need them.”

Along with a group of synagogues in North London, Sylvia Morris, who works for the Reform Movement, is also helping with the campaign. Mrs. Morris lost her daughter, Karen, to leukaemia in 1998 and set up a trust in her name which has been raising money towards building 'Karen's Home from Home' for the families of leukaemia patients at the Hammersmith Hospital.

For further details, please contact:
Andrea Newman, Movement for Reform Judaism Public Relations Officer

Notes for Editors

The criteria for joining the register is very important, please publish

• New donors must be aged between 18- 40yrs old, and in good health, weigh over 8 stone, not be severely overweight and be willing to donate stem cells to ANY patient they may ever match.

• Key target groups: male donors, young donors and donors from all ethnic minority backgrounds. More donors are sought due to shortages from these vital groups.

• Potential donor’s wishing to contact The Anthony Nolan Trust  - www.anthonynolan.org.uk or telephone The Trust direct on: 020 7284 1234 or call 24hr donor hotline: 0901 8822234 (calls are charged at 25p per minute)

ADDITIONAL INFO:

• Should a donor ever match to donate stem cells a short hospital stay is required and the stem cells can be donated in two ways. Either direct from the bone marrow via the pelvis under a general anaesthetic (cells will regenerate in the body within 21 days) or after a series of injections to increase stem cell production, the extra cells are withdrawn from veins in the arms (similar to platelet donation).  Donors have the choice of donation method and all donations take place in London. All donors’ loss of earnings and travel costs are covered and donors have a full medical prior to donating.

• MDS is a genetic blood disorder where the bone marrow does not produce enough healthy white blood cells and therefore the body’s immune system cannot fight off infections. 
• Bone marrow, found in the centre of all large bones, is the ‘factory’ where new blood cells are made. Without it our bodies would be unable to produce the white cells needed to fight infection or the red cells needed to carry oxygen and remove waste products from organs and tissues. Absence of healthy bone marrow also prevents the production of platelets, which help blood to clot and stop bleeding.

• Matching is performed on tissue type and this is an inherited characteristic passed on from parents to children so ethnic origin is vital when looking for matches.  We are more likely to find a match for a patient from a donor of a similar ethnic origin. 

• Every 21 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with a potentially life threatening disorder, like Leukaemia or aplastic anaemia where often the only chance of a full cure is to have a bone marrow transplant. Fewer than 30% of these patients will find a family member with compatible blood stem cells to donate. For the rest, an unrelated donor is the only chance.

• More information about the Karen Morris Memorial Trust is available at www.kmmt.org.uk

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