2004 Prize Laureate
Jay Feinberg
Gift of Life Marrow Registry, Founder + CEO
“I was instilled with strong Jewish values growing up - my parents were amazing role models. That’s why in my work helping to cure blood cancer, I find great personal satisfaction in advocating for the rights of patients, both individually — one person at a time — and collectively, by helping to impact public policy.”
Jay Feinberg is the founder and visionary leader behind Gift of Life Marrow Registry, a global organization that has revolutionized bone marrow and stem cell transplantation. After being diagnosed with leukemia shortly after college graduation, Feinberg transformed his personal battle into a lifesaving grassroots movement that has since recruited over 500,000 donors and facilitated more than 5,700 transplants in 47 countries. Under his leadership, Gift of Life has pioneered industry-changing innovations including cheek swab testing, paperless mobile registration, and the world's first registry-integrated stem cell collection center. His work has dramatically increased survival rates for underserved populations—raising the likelihood of Jewish patients finding a match from under 5% to over 80%.
Feinberg's impact has earned him recognition as a Jewish hero and humanitarian leader. He was the inaugural recipient of the Charles Bronfman Prize in 2004 and has received numerous honors including the National Marrow Donor Program's Allison Atlas Award, Hadassah International's World Citizenship Award, and an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva University. In 2025, he was named international president of the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA), cementing his role as a global authority in the field. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dickinson College with a degree in Political Science.
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