Matchmaker, Matchmaker, find us a Match!
Elliott Jacobson and Judy Malkin joined Holy Blossom Temple in 1983, and immediately were asked to join the New Leadership group that fall. Elliott first joined the Board of Directors in 1989 and became President in 1995. Under his leadership, the Out of the Cold program was established and he was also instrumental in the launch of the Temple Foundation. He has also served as the Chair of the Canadian Council of Reform Judaism (CCRJ) Board. Until the Covid lockdown, Elliott and Judy volunteered for Out of the Cold every Thursday afternoon from November through March in the Holy Blossom kitchen, where Elliott became known as “Mr. Potato Man.”
Elliott and Judy continue to be active and leading members of our congregation. Now they are asking for our help. Please read the following note they have circulated to a number of networks. The Holy Blossom community hopes to identify the special someone who can take up the mitzvah of pikuach nefesh, and extend Elliott’s lifetime, may he live to 120!
Dear Friends,
We have some difficult news to share with you.
My beloved husband, Elliott Jacobson, has been living with kidney disease for several years. He will likely need a kidney transplant sometime within the next 12 to 18 months.
Unfortunately, neither our daughters nor I are eligible donors. We are asking for your help in publicizing the need for a living kidney donor and hope you can spread the word among your contacts, especially via social media. Elliott is not on dialysis and we are hoping to avoid the need for it. A deceased donor transplant is available only to those already on dialysis, and the current wait time is over two years, hence the search for a living donor.
Julie Cissell is the clinical coordinator for the Donor Transplant team. She will be happy to answer any questions about the donor process. She can be reached at [email protected], or by phone at 416-340-4577.
In addition, information is available on the University Health Network website: https://www.uhn.ca/transplant. Please scroll down to see the links for donor information; there is a donor package you can download, as well as information for potential donors. There is a lengthy health history questionnaire and you need to submit a document showing your blood type. The donor information package asks if there is an intended recipient and, if so, the name, so feel free to put Elliott Jacobson’s name in anything you post. That’s the only way the donor team will know.
We have also reached out to Renewal.org, which tries to find matches for Jewish recipients from within the Jewish community. More information on living donor donations can be found on their main page.
Thank you for reading this far. We appreciate your love and support.
Judy and Elliott
To all our friends at Holy Blossom, thank you for the messages of support we have received. I need to clarify one thing, though: Elliott is not “actively ill” or in any pain or discomfort. This is a long-standing chronic condition that has worsened over time and now is the time we need to look for a transplant donor. Our daughters and I have gone through the evaluation and testing process and have found that health history or other underlying but not life-threatening conditions disqualify us from being a donor. Because none of the family members are eligible to donate, we have gone public with our message. Thank you.
Dear Elliott & Judy.
I read your post on FB just now. My husband received a liver transplant at UHN, from a deceased donor, on December 28, 2019. He was diagnosed in 2010 and so we are familiar with the journey you are on. Renewal is a tremendous organization and I wish you good luck in finding a suitable living donor, which is the best option. UHN is world class and we cannot say enough good things about their transplant team. If you would ever like to reach out in confidence, you can message me on FB. Refuah Shlemah!!!!
This is a message for Elliott and Judy. I was so sorry to hear about Elliott’s kidney disease and his need for a transplanted kidney. I hope and pray that you, Elliott, will soon find a suitable donor and that the transplant will be successful. At my age and with my health issues, I cannot even think about being a donor but I wish to offer my support and thoughts for success, and also Sandra’s, at this difficult time for you both.
David and Sandra Sandler