WASHINGTON (JTA) – Seventy-five Reform congregations throughout the United States are holding bone marrow registration drives on Yom Kippur.
For the second straight year, the Reform movement is partnering with the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation in an effort to register potential donors. A cheek swab will be taken from potential donors with the goal of helping patients suffering from leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood cancers and genetic disorders.
“We are proud that so many of our congregations recognize the importance of performing good deeds during the High Holidays,” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism.
Jay Feinberg, the founder and executive director of the Gift of Life, said the Reform congregations will be conducting “the greatest mitzvah of all — pikuach nefesh, saving a life — during this special time of year.”
