Julie Grossman wants every single eligible person to sign up for bone marrow registry to potentially save someone's life.
Julie's husband, Jonathan, who underwent a bone marrow transplant in July, lost his battle with myelofibrosis Aug. 30."I encourage people to register," Julie said. "Everyone who wants to register should do so."Jonathan was diagnosed in February with myelofibrosis, a rare chronic malignant hematological disorder affecting red and white blood cells. If left untreated, myelofibrosis can turn into an incurable form of leukemia.A bone marrow transplant was the North York resident's only hope at prolonging life. To help his chances of finding a match, Jonathan's family organized a bone marrow donor drive April 26 at Adath Israel Congregation at Bathurst Street and Wilson Avenue, which drew more than 1,400 people. When the drive was over, Jonathan and his family then had the daunting task of raising $75,000(US) for bone marrow testing, which was completed in eight weeks. Jonathan underwent the bone marrow transplant, which he told insidetoronto.com July 29 that he was "not a perfect match but it's as close as it's going to get.""It looked like things were starting to take hold but the chemo was so toxic on his body that it destroyed his liver and kidney," Julie said. "We can't say whether (the transplant) was successful or not."Along with his wife, Jonathan leaves behind daughter Jessica, son Jason and parents Dr. Harold Grossman and Faigy Nightingale Grossman. Julie said she plans to support future bone marrow drives, including one for Thornhill resident Shari Ichelson Silverman in North York Oct. 20.The drive will be held at the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, Toronto Division, 4700 Bathurst St., from 3:30 to 8 p.m. A second drive for Ichelson Silverman, who was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in July, will take place at the same location Nov. 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Canadian Blood Services' OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network is responsible for finding and matching volunteer donors for patients who require stem cell transplants.