Gary Schnitzer of Metuchen, right, met Steven Eisenberg of Long Island, left, who saved his life almost two years ago by making a stem cell donation. The meeting took place during Jewish Heritage Day Aug. 24 at Shea Stadium; with them is Omar Minaya, New York Mets vice president of baseball operations and general manager.
Photo courtesy Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation
High Holy Days donations
During Jewish Heritage Day at Shea Stadium, Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation executive director Jay Feinberg — a West Orange native who started the organization after his own life was saved by a transplant — announced it was undertaking an “ambitious’ campaign to register 25,000 new bone marrow and blood stem cell donors during the High Holy Days.
For information or to have a testing kit mailed to your home, visit www.giftoflife.org or call toll-free 800-9-MARROW.
September 9, 2008
Gary Schnitzer of Metuchen, who two years ago was facing death in his battle with leukemia, was filled with anticipation and questions as he prepared to meet the man whose stem cell donation saved his life.
“It was special for the entire family, including our son, Cole, who is eight years old,” said the 45-year-old Schnitzer. “We had waited a long time to be able to meet.”
The meeting took place Aug. 24 at Shea Stadium in Queens, during a Jewish Heritage Day game between the New York Mets and Houston Astros. The Mets donated a private suite for the occasion.
‘It was a wonderful experience and an important blessing.’
Schnitzer was introduced to Steven Eisenberg of Woodmere, Long Island. Up until then, Eisenberg knew only that his decision to undergo a procedure to donate blood stem cells on Nov. 7, 2006, had saved someone’s life.
Donor and donee were brought together by the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, a Boca Raton, Fla., organization founded by former West Orange resident Jay Feinberg. The organization seeks compatible donors for people with forms of leukemia, lymphoma, immuno-deficiencies, and aplastic anemia.
While international regulations require bone marrow donations to be anonymous., donors and recipients may meet after one year by mutual agreement.
The weeks leading up to the emotional meeting were described by Schnitzer’s wife, Loren Roller Schnitzer, as “very nerve-wracking.” The couple tried to formulate a picture of what the donor was like. The biggest surprise tuned out to be his age.
“We just thought the donor would be in his 20s,” said Roller Schnitzer. “It turned out he was 51 years old.”
Schnitzer immediately felt at ease with Eisenberg; both men are reserved. Loren hit it off with Eisenberg’s wife, Malka. The Long Island couple also brought their four children, ages 13 to 25.
Schnitzer said the two discussed what it was like to go through the donation process and what being a donor meant to Eisenberg. But it was something else the donor said that particularly struck him.
“When Steven received the phone call in January 2007 that I was doing well, he was with Malka, who was prepped for cancer surgery,” recalled Schnitzer. “He said she was 15 minutes from being brought into the operating room. To receive the news that I was doing well was a sign that his wife would also be well — and she is.”
Since the transplant, Schnitzer has also been unable to eat shellfish and was curious whether Eisenberg shared his new food allergy or if it was the result of the iodine he received in the testing process.
“It turned out he is an Orthodox Jew and, of course, doesn’t eat shellfish,” said Schnitzer. “Since the transplant, neither can I.”
Eisenberg, in a statement released through Gift of Life, described getting tested as “like buying a lottery ticket…if you’re a match you both hit the jackpot.”
Code blue
Schnitzer received the transplant at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick, where he was also treated for his leukemia. During the harrowing period Schnitzer came close to death four times. At one point the hospital called a code blue, a designation meaning death could be imminent.
He has been leukemia-free since the transplant, although he is still troubled by immunological setbacks known as “Graft Verses Host,” common among transplant recipients.
“I live a normal life with few exceptions,” said Schnitzer, who owns the Bike N Gear bicycle shop in Somerset.
In fact, he was planning to take part in the 100-mile Century for the Cure Ride for the second year in a row. Held this year on Sept. 6, the event benefits research at the cancer institute, which is affiliated with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
“If everyone would be willing to be not only tested, but also be willing to follow through, countless lives could be saved,” said Schnitzer. “People don’t realize how important this is until someone they know or someone they love becomes ill and then the race is on to find a donor.
“Timing is so important,” he said. “Chemo treatments weaken the entire body. The more chemo treatments you have to have to hold off the cancer until a donor is found, the harder it is to fight back.”
He himself went through five rounds of chemotherapy before Gift of Life matched him with Eisenberg.
“If Steven had not donated through their efforts, I might not have had a transplant or would have had to keep waiting with more chemo until a donor could be located,” added Schnitzer. “Steven told me although the preparation for the donation took time and made him uncomfortable sometimes, it was a wonderful experience and an important blessing.”
And will the two families stay in contact?
“Absolutely,” said Schnitzer.
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