Jay Feinberg

Jay Feinberg
Lh.D, hc
Born
Nyack, New York
Alma materDickinson College
OccupationsBone Marrow Registry Founder and CEO
Board member of
Gift of Life Marrow Registry

Jay Feinberg (born August 1968 in New York City) is a long-term leukemia survivor, community organizer and founder and current CEO of the Gift of Life Marrow Registry.

Leukemia, and search for a donor

Raised in West Orange, New Jersey,[1] Feinberg graduated in 1986 from Saddle River Day School[2] and in 1990 from Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA). He was a 22-year-old foreign-exchange analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 1991, just starting law school when he was diagnosed with leukemia and told that a bone marrow transplant was his only hope.[3] A matching donor was not found in Feinberg's immediate family. Knowing that tissue type is influenced by one's ethnic background - inherited like eye color, his friends and relatives widened their search to the unrelated population, focusing on increasing the representation of Ashkenazi Jews.[4]

Feinberg's plight, along with that of Mario Cooper, a graphic design artist, and Erskine Henderson, an attorney at Skadden Arps, was featured in a 1991 article in The New York Times.[1] Massive screenings were organized in Jewish communities throughout North America and Israel. In addition, screenings were held in Belarus (by Arnie Draiman and Bill Begal), Australia and South Africa.[5]

By 1995, more than 55,000 people had been tested.[6] Feinberg's condition was rapidly deteriorating and only a partial match had been found. A friend in Milwaukee organized one last drive and teenager Becky Faibisoff, a 16-year-old girl from Illinois,[3] was found to be a match. Feinberg received his successful transplant at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA.[7]

The Gift of Life Marrow Registry

Feinberg is the founder and CEO of the Gift of Life Marrow Registry[3] which seeks to increase ethnic diversity in the global donor pool to increase the chances patients will find a genetic match. The recruitment model Feinberg created for increasing the representation of Jewish donors in the registry during his own donor search has since been replicated to help increase representation of donors of African America, Hispanic, Asian and Native American backgrounds.[8]

Feinberg helped the organization to become a world leader in its field.[9]

World Marrow Donor Association

In 2024, Feinberg was elected President of the World Marrow Donor Association. He assumed office on January 1, 2025.

Awards

  • In 1999, Feinberg was awarded the Hadassah International’s Citizen of the World Award.[10][11]
  • In 2005, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Yeshiva University,[12] along with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
  • In 2010, he was awarded the Jewish Community Hero Award for his inspiring service to both the Jewish community and all those in need of bone marrow transplants by Jewish Federations of North America.[13]
  • In 2013, Feinberg was named one of the top one hundred individuals who have positively influenced Jewish life this past year for innovation by The Algemeiner Jewish 100.
  • In 2016, Feinberg was awarded the Community Leadership Award at Areyvut’s Fifth Annual Bergen County Breakfast for his service and leadership.[15][16]
  • Jay Feinberg, 2016

References

  1. ^ a b "Day of Hope for Those Dying of Leukemia (Published 1991)". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "'Swab Mob' group helps to save lives in Saddle River", The Record, October 20,2016. Accessed August 13, 2024. "The event was inspired by Gift of Life Founder and CEO Jay Feinberg, who graduated from Saddle River Day School in 1986."
  3. ^ a b c "Cancer battle spurs entrepreneur to start donor registry". Reuters. 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  4. ^ Stone, Judy. "What You Need To Know On World Bone Marrow Day". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  5. ^ "Jay Feinberg's Story". Archived from the original on 2010-12-25. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
  6. ^ Holt, Faygie (2018-12-25). "Gift of Life Marrow Registry keeps moving forward". JNS.org. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  7. ^ "Jay Feinberg". www.hbssouthflorida.org. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  8. ^ "FridayPiday: Jay Feinberg (Dickinson, 1990)". AEPi. 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  9. ^ "Jay Feinberg". The Charles Bronfman Prize. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  10. ^ "Jewish Community Hero of the Year: Jay Feinberg". Repair the World. 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  11. ^ "Awards and Honors". www.giftoflife.org. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  12. ^ "Yeshiva University website". Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2007-03-03.
  13. ^ "The Jewish Federations of North America". Archived from the original on 2010-11-11. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  14. ^ "Biennial and Assembly Awards Acknowledge Outstanding Contributions to Jewish Life". Women of Reform Judaism. 2013-12-15. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  15. ^ "Jay Feinberg to Receive Community Leadership Award". 31 March 2016. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  16. ^ "Areyvut honors Gift of Life CEO Feinberg with 2016 Community Leadership Award". es.giftoflife.org. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
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