Dr. Bracha Zisser
Prize for Lifetime Achievement for an Inspirational Woman
Dr. Bracha Zisser, founder and director of Ezer Mizion’s International Bone Marrow Donor Registry, and its cancer patient guest home and cancer support services.
Bracha Zisser was born in Bnei Brak to a family that was among the city’s founders and there she grew up. She did her National Service at the Welfare Office in Ramle, where she took care of youths in crisis and families of prisoners. She earned a BA in Life Sciences and an MA and PhD in Nursing with a focus on Oncology. Her doctoral thesis dealt with the effect of cancer on young people.
Zisser dedicates her life to cancer patients and their families, working from a deep sense of responsibility and mission. She served as head nurse of the Internal Medicine ward in Beilinson Hospital. Through the illness of her husband, businessman Moti Zisser z”l she experienced first-hand the challenges facing cancer patients and their families and, particularly, the difficulties for patients needing a stem cell transplant.
This led the couple to establish the International Bone Marrow Donor Registry, a registry that to date has saved the lives of more than 4,000 people.
Zisser also directs Ezer Mizion’s “Oranit” cancer patient guest home, which provides hotel accommodations for patients living far from the hospital during outpatient treatment. The home offers extensive leisure and therapy activities for adults and children with cancer, all free of charge. All of these form an embracing cushion for cancer patients and their families, giving them vital tools and support in their struggle with cancer.
Zisser is the mother of five and grandmother of grandchildren.
