MTA always celebrates the accomplishments of their alumni. Some go on to become roshei yeshiva, others successful businessmen, all of whom getting their start during their formative years of high school. Not many can say they donated bone marrow through a Gift of Life drive that took place at MTA. Ben Richman (‘22) joins a growing list of successful donors, after matching with a 47 year old man suffering from Leukemia.
Ben is the son of Cory (‘95) and Mandy (YUHSG ‘96), twin brother of Sam (‘22), and older brother of Andi (‘26) and Jake. He lives in Bergenfield and is a third generation MTA alum. Ben’s parents are invested in his progress and are involved parents at MTA.
When Ben was a student at MTA, he participated in MTA’s annual Gift of Life bone-marrow drive. He did not think anything would come of it other than a simple swab of his mouth. However, this past October all that changed when he was contacted by Gift of Life because he was a match. Ben was a talmid in Reishit at the time, enjoying his shana bet year.
Because of the war that broke out on October 7, the normal timing associated with the bone marrow donation process was delayed, as special blood tests that needed to be shipped to Israel took longer than anticipated. In late December, the blood tests finally arrived in Israel, and the donation process was underway. After several check-ups in Israel at various labs and doctor’s offices, the date of March 25 was set for Ben’s donation.
Ben was flown in 10 days prior to that date, and needed two shots every day for five days before the donation to help the bone marrow make new white blood cells that would be needed for the extraction.
When March 25 finally arrived, Ben went to Hackensack University Hospital to donate. It turned into a 12 hour affair as some complications arose which required a location change for the draw. Despite that, Ben says, “It doesn’t matter if the person I donated to is Jewish or not. At a time like this we need to make a Kiddush Hashem with everyone.”
Ben is now back to his normal self, and other than limiting physical activity for two weeks post the procedure, life has gone back to normal, but is also forever changed in the best way possible.
