Bryce Vaysberg is known in the local community for a lot of things: a love of skateboarding and snowboarding, boundless energy and talent on the drums, which he plays in the jazz band at Borel Middle School in San Mateo.
And now he needs his community’s help.
Recently diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare bone marrow disease that requires immediate treatment, Bryce, who is 13 years old and a seventh-grader at Borel, needs a bone marrow donor. His synagogue, Peninsula Temple Sholom in Burlingame, will be holding a daylong drive March 20 to help find a match.
“He is such an amazingly spirited, resilient boy,” says family friend April Glatt, who is running the drive; she’s one of a group of friends who call themselves Bryce’s team. “He’s an old soul, and he’s looking at this as a cause — he’s really embraced that he was put here to make awareness, to fight this thing and show people that this battle can be won.”
In addition to the drive, the Vaysbergs have partnered with the Be the Match Foundation, a national marrow donor program, to make it free for potential donors to register and get tested at home. The organization will send a swab kit to those who sign up online. While anyone between the ages of 18 to 60 is eligible, the family is hoping the Jewish community in particular will take note: successful bone marrow matches are usually made with donors and patients of the same ethnic background.
“Finding a Russian-Italian Jew would be wonderful, since that’s Bryce’s background,” explains Glatt.
In general, Ashkenazi Jews as a group are underrepresented on the bone marrow registry — a statistic Bryce’s team is hoping to change. While the March 20 drive is in honor of Bryce, Glatt says the family is passionate about creating awareness for those who might not have such a strong support network.
“We’re just hoping to get people out there to help others,” says Glatt. “It’s so easy to become a bone marrow donor. It’s 15 minutes, this painless, non-invasive procedure — a swab in the cheek — and really, it’s the biggest mitzvah possible. It’s saving a life.”
Band Together 4 Bryce, the Vaysbergs’ partnership with the Be the Match Foundation, will be testing potential donors at Peninsula Temple Sholom, 1655 Sebastian Drive, Burlingame, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 20. For more information or to register for a home test kit, visit www.marrow.org and use the code: 4bryce.