CHELSEA, MANHATTAN (PIX11) -- It was an emotional evening filled with stories of courage and compassion at the Gift of Life Marrow Registry's annual One Huge Night Gala, where a local medical student united for the first time with her bone marrow recipient.
The gala brings together bone marrow donors, transplant recipients like 12-year-old Zachary Yudin, and a community committed to fighting life-threatening diseases.
Yudin's battle with cancer began at the tender age of two when he was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2014. "It's been pretty difficult because I've had to be - when I did have it, I had to be in the hospital like the entire time," Yudin said.
After undergoing three and a half grueling years of intensive chemotherapy, his family was able to breathe a sigh of relief when he finally achieved remission. However, they were devastated by the news of his relapse in 2019.
"We were shocked," said Zachary's mom Nicole Yudin. "Nobody ever thinks that their child is going to be diagnosed with cancer so yeah, and then ever since his diagnosis, it was just go, go, go. Doctors, nurses, hospital stays."
The heartbreak was overwhelming for the Yudin family from North Carolina as they faced the crushing reality of yet another battle. A turning point came a few weeks later when they learned that Rina Davidson, a medical student in New York City, was a perfect match to give Zachary the life-saving bone marrow transplant he so desperately needed.
"For me, it was a no-brainer," Davidson said. "Some 7-year-old at the time needed help and it was an obvious choice I think anyone would do it."
It was a heartfelt moment for Zach and Rina who embraced each other - meeting for the very first time at the Gift of Life's One Huge Night Gala. Zach was thankful to his donor for another chance at life.
Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a nonprofit with a mission to cure blood-related illnesses - hoping to make a monumental difference, one life-saving transplant at a time.
"If one person gives the gift of life to another in need, they reaffirm the goodness in humanity and we need more people like that because it only takes one person to save a life," said Jay Feinberg, CEO of Gift of Life Marrow Registry.
If you are interested in becoming a bone marrow donor, organizers say all it takes is a cheek swab to join the registry and hopefully become someone's hero.
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