Jay Feinberg

Raised in West Orange, New Jersey, Feinberg graduated in 1986 from Saddle River Day School[https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/ridgewood/2016/10/20/swab-mob-group-helps-to-save-lives-in-saddle-river/93057256/ "'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." 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-column-cohen-donor-idUSTRE76C6KZ20110713|title=Cancer battle spurs entrepreneur to start donor registry|date=2011-07-13|work=Reuters|access-date=2019-10-01|language=en}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2015/09/18/world-bone-marrow-donor-day-give-the-gift-of-life/|title=What You Need To Know On World Bone Marrow Day|last=Stone|first=Judy|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2019-10-01}}

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.{{cite web |title=Day of Hope for Those Dying of Leukemia (Published 1991) |website=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/16/nyregion/day-of-hope-for-those-dying-of-leukemia.html}} 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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.acor.org/leukemia/storydir/feinberg-art1.html |title=Jay Feinberg's Story |access-date=2011-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225142337/http://www.acor.org/leukemia/storydir/feinberg-art1.html |archive-date=2010-12-25 |url-status=dead }}

By 1995, more than 55,000 people had been tested.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jns.org/growing-gift-of-life-foundation-keeps-moving-forward/|title=Gift of Life Marrow Registry keeps moving forward|last=Holt|first=Faygie|date=2018-12-25|website=JNS.org|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-01}} 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, was found to be a match. Feinberg received his successful transplant at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hbssouthflorida.org/s/1738/cc/index2.aspx?sid=1738&gid=20&pgid=32440|title=Jay Feinberg|website=www.hbssouthflorida.org|language=en|access-date=2019-10-01}}

Feinberg's experience led him to devote his life to building a movement to educate and encourage people to add themselves to bone marrow registries around the world and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of donor Registry operations and strategy. The Gift of Life Marrow Registry, the Florida-based organization of which he is founder and CEO, seeks to increase ethnic diversity in the global donor pool. Because tissue type is inherited, a patient's best chance of finding a genetic match lies with those of similar background. 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aepi.org/2017/10/06/fridaypiday-jay-feinberg-dickinson-1990/|title=FridayPiday: Jay Feinberg (Dickinson, 1990)|date=2017-10-06|website=AEPi|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-01}}

Feinberg helped the organization to become a world leader in its field.{{Cite web|url=https://thecharlesbronfmanprize.org/recipient/jay-feinberg/|title=Jay Feinberg|website=The Charles Bronfman Prize|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-01}}

In 2019, Feinberg led the establishment of the world's first registry-integrated stem cell collection center, based at Gift of Life's headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida. There were two reasons for this new facility. First, Feinberg wanted to re-engineer the donor experience, providing apheresis services in a non-hospital setting that provided donors with all the amenities of a spa-like experience. Second, to expedite the time to transplant for patients, by limiting the collection center solely to peripheral blood stem cell collections for the registry.

In 2024, Feinberg was elected President of the World Marrow Donor Association. He assumed office on January 1, 2025. The WMDA strives for a world where access to life-saving cellular therapies for all patients is assured and donors’ rights and safety are protected.

• In 1999, Feinberg was awarded the Hadassah International’s Citizen of the World Award.{{Cite web|url=https://werepair.org/jewish-community-hero-of-the-year-jay-feinberg/|title=Jewish Community Hero of the Year: Jay Feinberg|date=2010-11-10|website=Repair the World|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-20}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.giftoflife.org/page/content/awards-honors|title=Awards and Honors|website=www.giftoflife.org|access-date=2019-11-20}}
• In 2004, Feinberg was awarded the [http://www.thecharlesbronfmanprize.com Charles Bronfman Prize] for his dedication to the fight against leukemia and his service to the Jewish community.{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/equal-opportunity-for-those_b_9487246|title=Equal Opportunity for Those Needing Bone Marrow Transplants|last1=Prize|first1=The Charles Bronfman|last2=work|first2=ContributorThe Charles Bronfman Prize celebrates an individual or team under age 50 whose humanitarian|date=2016-03-17|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=2019-11-20|last3=values|first3=Jewish|last4=World|first4=Has Improved the}}
• In 2005, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Yeshiva University,{{Cite web |url=http://spider.mc.yu.edu/news/articles/article.cfm?id=101083 |title=Yeshiva University website |access-date=2007-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219020426/http://spider.mc.yu.edu/news/articles/article.cfm?id=101083 |archive-date=2007-02-19 |url-status=dead }} 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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.jewishfederations.org/index.aspx?page=1 |title=The Jewish Federations of North America |access-date=2010-11-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111143618/http://www.jewishfederations.org/index.aspx?page=1 |archive-date=2010-11-11 |url-status=dead }}
• In 2013, Feinberg was named one of the top one hundred individuals who have positively influenced Jewish life this past year for innovation by [http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/04/24/jewish-100-jay-feinberg-innovation The Algemeiner Jewish 100].
• In late 2013, Feinberg received the prestigious [http://blogs.rj.org/rac/2013/12/12/jay-feinberg-receives-eisendrath-bearer-of-light-award-at-72nd-urj-north-american-biennial/ Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award], the highest honor bestowed by the [http://urj.org/ Reform Movement].{{Cite web|url=https://wrj.org/biennial-and-assembly-awards-acknowledge-outstanding-contributions-jewish-life|title=Biennial and Assembly Awards Acknowledge Outstanding Contributions to Jewish Life|date=2013-12-15|website=Women of Reform Judaism|language=en|access-date=2019-11-20}}
• In 2016, Feinberg was awarded the Community Leadership Award at Areyvut’s Fifth Annual Bergen County Breakfast for his service and leadership.{{Cite web|url=https://www.areyvut.org/2016/03/jay-feinberg-to-receive-community-leadership-award/|title=Jay Feinberg to Receive Community Leadership Award|date=31 March 2016 |language=en|access-date=2019-11-20}}{{Cite web|url=https://es.giftoflife.org/posts/post/77dea3d0-98dd-4578-84f3-a2c710f8fbc1|title=Areyvut honors Gift of Life CEO Feinberg with 2016 Community Leadership Award|website=es.giftoflife.org|access-date=2019-11-20}}

Jay_A_Feinberg.jpg|Jay Feinberg, 2016

• Feinberg graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dickinson College in 1990 with a major in political science
• An honorary brother of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity
• Inaugural recipient of the Charles Bronfman Prize
• Inaugural recipient of the National Marrow Donor Program's Allison Atlas Award
• Established the very first bone marrow registry dedicated to increasing representation of donors of Jewish ethnic background to diversify the donor pool

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.giftoflife.org/ Gift of Life Marrow Registry]
• [https://www.giftoflife.org/media/videogallery Videos about Gift of Life and Jay Feinberg]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070219020426/http://spider.mc.yu.edu/news/articles/article.cfm?id=101083 Yeshiva University Honorary Doctorate]
• [http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/20940/edition_id/431/format/html/displaystory.html 1995 Article detailing Jay's fight with Leukemia]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102746/http://www.hadassahinternational.org/default.asp?section=ac&Subsection=pc&BegOrder=31 Hadassah International World Citizen Award]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070213041639/http://www.marrow.org/ABOUT/NMDP_Awards/Allison_Atlas_Award/index.html National Marrow Donor Program Allison Atlas Award]
• [http://www.thecharlesbronfmanprize.com/recipients/jay-feinberg Inaugural recipient of the Charles Bronfman Prize]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101111155626/http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/11/09/2741679/jay-feinberg-wins-jewish-community-hero-campaign Jay Feinberg Wins Jewish Community Hero Contest]

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Category:1969 births

Category:Dickinson College alumni

Category:People from Long Island

Category:People from West Orange, New Jersey

Category:Saddle River Day School alumni

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century American Jews