Transplant recipient meets donor

Following two unsuccessful years of chemotherapy for leukemia beginning in March 2009, Woodmere resident Terry Kornbluth’s only other alternative was a bone marrow transplant.

In January 2011, his doctor put his name and DNA information into a national database, and just two months later, Kornbluth, 65, was matched with a potential donor. He underwent a bone marrow transplant at North Shore-LIJ that April. “I appreciate everything more,” he said of life after his transplant. “I don’t take anything for granted, and I’m able to put things in the proper perspective.”

After the operation, Kornbluth wanted to meet the person who saved his life. But he had to wait. “There’s a one-year statute in which I can’t meet the donor,” he said, referring to the rules of the Gift of Life Foundation, which facilitated the transplant. Finally, two years later, Kornbluth learned the identity of his donor. “As unlikely as it was, my match lived a half-mile from me in Woodmere,” he said.

Nicole Goldstein, 22, a graduate of Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls in Hewlett, donated bone marrow through Gift of Life. “Never once did I question whether I wanted to go through with the donation,” she said. “Who am I to deny someone a second lease on life? To me it was simple.”

On May 21, Goldstein and Kornbluth met, at the Gift of Life Gala at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan. “I was kept in a separate room for the beginning of the night until we met on stage, and I was excitedly standing on the other side of ballroom doors while Terry was introduced,” Goldstein said. “The moment I heard that he also lives in Woodmere, my jaw dropped, I cupped my mouth in disbelief, and turned to the stage director for confirmation that I heard correctly. I’ve waited over two years to meet my recipient and his family. Little did I know that we were [possibly] passing each other on the street the entire time.” She was still in shock, Goldstein said, when the ballroom doors opened and she finally met Kornbluth.

“She is the nicest, kindest 22-year-old who is mature beyond her years,” Kornbluth said. “Her primary goal in life was to make sure I was healthy.”

Goldstein’s decision to donate bone marrow has changed her life as well. She began organizing donor recruitment drives, where she met an elementary school friend who is involved in Gift of Life, Yehuda Wolfset of Cedarhurst. They are now engaged. “It all began with our Gift of Life volunteer team and, thanks to Terry, is continuing with something very special,” she said. “I cannot wait for Terry and his family to join us for our wedding in November.”

As the recipient of donated bone marrow, Kornbluth is a strong proponent of such donations. “It’s just a swab of the cheek with a cotton swab, and then the DNA information gets put into a database so when someone needs it, the computer does a match,” he said. “It’s as good to give as it is to receive, knowing that you saved someone’s life.”

Tamara Hochman, a recruitment coordinator for Gift of Life, explained the process, saying it only takes five minutes. “By filling out a short consent form and having their cheek swabbed,” she said, “donors can help save the life of someone with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood disorders.”

Thanks to his improving health, Kornbluth will reduce the frequency of his examinations from four times a year to two. “Nothing makes me happier than to know that he is, thank God, feeling great,” Goldstein said. “Donating has given me the chance to share life. Life is amazing, and there is nothing better than that.”