Bone marrow match sought for local boy
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

MARLBORO - One Marlboro family is hoping for a miracle and the community is pulling together to try to make it happen.

Marc Weinstein, 9, was born with the rare blood disorder HLH (hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis), which is caused by an excess of white blood cells called histiocytes, according to the Histiocytosis Association of America's Internet Web site.

The histiocytes cluster together and can attack various areas of the body including the central nervous system. The majority of people who are diagnosed with this disorder are children under the age of 10.

This same disorder claimed the life of Marc's brother, Ross, in 2002.

The disease has now progressed to the point where Marc needs a bone marrow transplant, but currently there are no ideal matches for Marc. The boy's best chance for a match is someone who shares his Eastern European ancestry.

When staff members at Marc's school, the Solomon Schechter Day School, and his brother Robert's school, the Marlboro Jewish Center Nursery School, learned of the urgent need for a match, they offered to spearhead bone marrow drives to find Marc's match.

The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation was contacted to help with funding, organizing and promoting a bone marrow drive. The organization, established in 1991, provides a subsidy for the lab costs of processing the swabs.

Gift of Life is North America's largest Jewish marrow donor and umbilical cord blood registry and is recognized for facilitating transplants for more than 1,500 patients around the world.

To raise the rest of the funds needed to conduct a drive, fliers and e-mails went out. Over 72 hours, there was an outpouring of financial support, not just from Marc's hometown of Marlboro, but from people up and down the East Coast who received the e-mail, said Michael Danziger, a friend of the family.

"From the smallest child to the mayor of Marlboro, people reached out with offers of support and assistance," Danziger said, adding that people from all walks of life having come forward with their support.

The test is simple, requiring only a cotton swab swipe inside the cheek. Anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 who is in good health can be tested.

Although Marc's best chance of a match is from someone of Eastern European descent, no one will be turned away from testing. While someone who is tested may not be a match for Marc, they will become part of the worldwide registry and may save someone else.

The bone marrow drives will take place throughout Marlboro on different dates. On Feb. 10, Solomon Schechter Day School, School Road East, will have two drives, from 9 a.m. to noon and from 5-8 p.m. Temple Rodeph Torah, Mohawk Drive, will host a drive on Feb. 10 from 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

On Feb. 12, Solomon Schechter Day School will hold a drive from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The final drive will be held on Feb. 13 at the Marlboro Jewish Center's Chai Building, Topanemus Road, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

"We are incredibly grateful to the entire community. Since Ross got sick almost seven years ago, until today, the support of so many people has been an incredible source of strength for my family. We feel an incredible sense of gratitude to so many and it is a source of great comfort to think that because of Marc another family might find an answer to their prayers. Cindy and I have deep faith that Marc will be well and back with his friends and schoolmates soon, shining his special light on the world," said Marc's father, Barry Weinstein.

Numerous businesses and organizations have lent their support for the effort, including Advanced Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, the Marlboro Jewish Center, Knit One Purl Two, Dance Attitudes, MJJ Brilliant, CentraState Foundation, PineBrook Care Center, Mac Pools and Spas, Rolling Hills Day Camp, Bloomfield Cooper Jewish Chapels, MinuteMan Press of Manalapan, Temple Beth Shalom and Rabbi Ira Rothstein.