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After Colton Zuckerman, a freshman at The Gregory School in Tucson, was diagnosed with leukemia in October, his family decided to encourage blood donations across the country.
“Our goal is, by the end of this, to have put 10 times the volume back in the blood bank than what we’ve taken out for Colton’s treatment,” says his father, Jay Zuckerman.
A recent blood drive in Joplin, Missouri, the hometown of Colton’s mother, Stephanie, raised 36 pints and a drive at his school netted 28 pints, Zuckerman says.
Treatment for leukemia, a cancer affecting blood and bone marrow, requires numerous blood transfusions, initially to help recover from the disease, and later to offset the damage done by chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy “basically poisons your bone marrow” to destroy the cancer cells, Zuckerman explains.
On Feb. 16, Congregation Anshei Israel will dedicate its biannual blood drive in honor of Colton’s healing, says Rabbi Sara Metz.
“Judaism is about life and nothing is more important than saving a life,” the rabbi adds. “The Zuckerman family has been committed to health and saving lives for many years. They are generous supporters of so many important causes around the world, Tucson, and in the Jewish community. I am deeply grateful for their wisdom and friendship. In Colton’s honor, we are asking the community to come together to save lives.”
Colton’s paternal grandparents, Enid and the late Mel Zuckerman, were longtime supporters of Anshei Israel and many other local Jewish organizations. They founded Canyon Ranch wellness resorts and spas, and established an endowment to launch the University of Arizona College of Public Health, which is named in their honor.
Anshei Israel’s Feb. 16 blood drive starts at 9 a.m. and continues until 2 p.m. To make an appointment, visit redcrossblood.org and enter “Anshei” as the sponsor code. Each time slot offers two donation opportunities: whole blood, which is the typical donation, and “Power Red,” which uses an automated process to separate and collect the red blood cells while the plasma and platelets are returned to the donor.
Platelet transfusions are vital for leukemia treatment, but on-site blood drives can’t harvest platelet donations due to the specialized equipment needed, which in Tucson is only housed at the Red Cross Blood Centers on East Broadway Boulevard and North La Cholla Boulevard.
Zuckerman tells people “The warrior gives platelets,” because the process takes longer than other blood donations, up to three hours. Platelets can be donated every seven days, up to 24 times a year, whereas whole blood can be given every eight weeks.
He adds that without platelets, leukemia patients would not survive.
Clues that Colton was ill included dramatic weight loss, a cough that lingered after a cold, and fatigue.
Colton, who is 6’1,” had been trying to slim down a bit, but the weight kept dropping off and the cough persisted.
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“After four trips to the pediatrician, we finally got labs done and we were in the hospital within hours,” Zuckerman says. Colton spent 23 days at Banner Children’s Hospital, which Zuckerman calls “a fantastic facility.”
Although Colton is home now, continuing treatment leaves him too weak to return to school, where he’d be exposed to dangerous respiratory diseases while his immune system is compromised from the chemotherapy,” Zuckerman says.
This week, Colton will complete his second round of aggressive chemotherapy, part of seven stages of leukemia treatment.
After more than three months of chemotherapy, Colton gets “six weeks with no poison,” during which he’ll have a month of healing immunotherapy infusions, Zuckerman says.
The immunotherapy stages of the treatment are part of recent advances in treating leukemia.
“They used to do immunotherapy after you’d had a recurrence, but they found it so beneficial, it was added to the protocol,” Zuckerman explains.
“Doctors now can also detect smaller traces of cancer in the bone marrow leading to more aggressive treatment in early stages if need be,” he says.
Colton “had tiny traces in his bone marrow after his first month” of treatment “that five years ago they wouldn’t have seen,” Zuckerman says, adding that his next scan will be in a couple of weeks. Based on his progress, his doctors expect it to be good news.
Zuckerman expects Colton will be able to return to school in January 2026.
Colton hasn’t yet lost his hair, but Zuckerman says his friends were ready to shave their heads in solidarity the moment they learned he had cancer.
Fran Stoler, a volunteer who helps coordinate Anshei Israel’s blood drives, was pleased to see six slots for the Feb. 16 drive filled when she checked early this week. Nationally, donations have been lower than expected due to wildfires and severe winter weather. All blood types are needed to support the blood supply.
Those who don’t wish to register online can contact Stoler at franstoler@gmail.com or call the American Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767.