Ruth Spector, an anesthesiologist and mother of three small children from Long Island, was devastated when she was diagnosed with acute leukemia in late 2001 and told she needed a bone marrow transplant to live. A whirlwind of a personality, gifted in intellect, spirit and athletics, Ruthie was determined to survive. However, she was unable to find a donor match in her family or international registries. Tissue type is inherited, like eye or hair color. The daughter of a vibrant Holocaust survivor from the former Czechoslovakia, Ruthie's best chance of finding a genetic match was with those of Eastern-European Jewish ethnic ancestry.

In early 2002, Ruthie came to the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry with the hopes of finding a life-saving donor. Her family, in conjunction with Gift of Life, launched an ambitious recruitment campaign, organizing nearly 100 drives and testing well over 30,000 donors. In June 2002, Gift of Life found Ruthie's match and she was successfully transplanted at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
A year later, volunteers recruited on Ruthie's behalf have facilitated matches for two dozen other patients also in need if life-saving transplants. Today, Ruthie continues on the road to recovery, and is active as a patient advocate for Gift of Life. To learn how you too can become a hero, visit www.giftoflife.org.

Requirements: Ages 18 - 60 and general good health.
Blood type does not matter! — Those previously tested need not be retested.

Donations:
Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation
7700 Congress Avenue, Suite 2201
Boca Raton, Florida 33487

Memo: Help Ruthie Now Fund