The Ezer Mizion (pronounced \"MiTzion,\" meaning Help From Zion) organization - a non-profit organization in Israel dedicated to assisting the sick and handicapped - is helping organize a bone-marrow drive tomorrow throughout Israel. Dozens of leukemia patients in Israel - most of whom are children - are awaiting a life-saving matching bone marrow donor, and tomorrow\'s drive is currently one of their only hopes.
Although some 30,000 donors have been catalogued in the bone marrow database in the past year - the database totals almost 60,000 - none of them have been found to provide a match for the anxious patients. Ezer Mizion officials say that people who have been tested in previous drives need not be tested again - but those who haven\'t yet are urgently asked to do so. The tests are being held in many, but not all, Magen David Adom centers throughout the country, as well as in Ezer Mizion branches and public malls. Would-be donors are not charged money, but each test costs $65 to process, thus that the organizers are seeking donors not only of marrow, but also of funds.
Although some 30,000 donors have been catalogued in the bone marrow database in the past year - the database totals almost 60,000 - none of them have been found to provide a match for the anxious patients. Ezer Mizion officials say that people who have been tested in previous drives need not be tested again - but those who haven\'t yet are urgently asked to do so. The tests are being held in many, but not all, Magen David Adom centers throughout the country, as well as in Ezer Mizion branches and public malls. Would-be donors are not charged money, but each test costs $65 to process, thus that the organizers are seeking donors not only of marrow, but also of funds.