Metro
DR. COLEMAN MOPPER MEMORIAL LECTURE
In memory of Shirley A. Mopper
A Call
To Arms
Huntington Woods
mom organizes bone
marrow registry
event to save a
15-month-old toddler.
Bryan Gottlieb
Red Thread Editor
F
Thomas P. Campbell
Director, Metropolitan Museum of Art
2 p.m. I Saturday I April 16, 2011
Lecture Hall
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16
ew things in life can trigger an
immediate response like news
of a child needing the gift of
life. The gravity of the situation inspires
people to go out of their way like little
else — and Huntington Woods resident
Nancy Kleinfeldt accepted after hearing
that a friend's 15-month-old was sick.
Kleinfeldt, a mother of three, learned
that toddler Ayelet Galenda in New York
was in need of a bone marrow trans-
plant and, thus far, no matches had been
found through family members or the
national Bone Marrow Registry.
Kleinfeldt hung up the phone with the
friend who told her of Ayelet's plight and
began researching what it would take to
initiate a bone marrow drive in Detroit.
"My heart broke for Ayelet's family,"
Kleinfeldt says. "I considered what I
would do if I was in their position — I
wouldn't stop until I contacted every
person I know to join the registry — I
immediately knew what I was going to
do next:'
While not a professional organizer, the
37-year-old approached this dilemma
by employing a mother's skill at finding
creative solutions. "I contacted the Gift
of Life, who put me in contact with the
Be a Match organization," she says. "And,
after a 10-minute conversation, I had all
the information I needed to get starter
In keeping with the urgency of the
situation, Kleinfeldt also called upon the
resources of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit to help publicize
the registry drive. CEO Scott Kaufman
says Federation has lent collateral sup-
port through the agency's marketing
expertise, facilities and an available
intern to shore up the organizational
effort.
"Of course, if this doesn't fit the defi-
Ayelet Galenda
nition, then nothing does:' he said of
Federation's assistance to Kleinfeldt. "We
have to be careful of individual requests
because budgets are tight, but the infra-
structure she needed is already in place."
Perhaps the biggest support came
from former Federation CEO Robert
Aronson, who secured the underwrit-
ing to offset the fees associated with the
DNA processing, analysis and inclusion
into the registry. Aronson said the donor
wishes to remain anonymous.
All the while, little Ayelet sits in her
parents Upper West Side apartment in
New York, unaware of the attempt taking
place 600-plus miles away to secure her
bone marrow. Born with a compromised
immune system, she has repeatedly
been sick since coming home from the
hospital.
"You know, every time she gets a cold,
I wonder, 'Is this going to be the pneu-
monia that, you know, she won't be able
to fight off?"' her mother Hindy Poupko
recently told WCBS Radio. "Every day
is a risk because her immune system is
basically running at 50 percent."
While the effort began with Ayelet in
mind, Kleinfeldt realizes the ancillary
benefits to the Detroit community are
directly tied to the registry. While she
hopes a match can be found for Ayelet
here, the likelihood somebody in need
will benefit increases with each addition
to the registry.
"If ever someone from the Detroit
Jewish community needed a bone mar-
row transplant, we will have had this
community-wide bone marrow drive
already," she says. "The best chance for
most Jewish individuals of finding a
genetically matched donor lies with those
of Eastern European ancestry."
Donors must be between age 18 and
60, willing to donate to any patient in
need and meet the registry's health
guidelines. H
The Bone Marrow Registry Drive is 7 a.m.-noon Tuesday, April 12, at Akiva
Hebrew Day School, 21100 W. 12 Mile Road, Southfield. Health professionals
will use swabs to take a sample from the mouth. No appointment is necessary.