Six-year-old Jasmina Anema, suffering from leukemia, and her best friend Isabelle Huurman recently caught the attention of pop sensation, Rihanna. Now other celebrities are following Rihanna in support of DKMS. Chris Wilcox of the NY Knicks recently visited Jasmina in her room at NYU Medical Center.
Jasmina was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia on January 20th, 2009. Her doctors immediately determined her only chance for survival is a bone marrow transplant. Isabelle, Jasmina's best friend, asks everyone in a heartbreaking video to help find the oneforjasmina.com -- the perfect donor match.
Both girls are African-Americans being raised by Caucasian families. "The girls are more like sisters than best friends," said Jasmina's mother, Thea. "We always imagined that Jasmina and Isabelle would grow-up together and be best friends forever."
"I am touched by the support and kindness that people continue to demonstrate to help save Jasmina, stated Katharina Harf, EVP, DKMS Americas. "I urge others to please come out to register so Jasmina can enjoy life with her family and best friend. We need to find Jasmina's lifesaver now."
To find a perfect bone marrow donor will be extremely difficult, because African-Americans make up only 8% of the bone marrow registry and have more diverse tissue types. Jasmina has no full siblings, and because she was adopted, there is no information about her extended birth family, which makes it that much harder to find a match.
Join DKMS and its supports in the Fight Against Leukemia. Just ten minutes of your time can help save the life of Jasmina and thousands like her suffering form life-threatening blood cancers, like leukemia.
"There is a misconception that donating bone marrow is a complicated, painful procedure," Harf says. "Actually, there are two ways to donate, and both procedures are outpatient. I think if people know how easy the registration and donation processes are, everyone will sign up," added Harf.
A donor drive in Jasmina's honor is taking place at the African American Museum and Library:
Saturday, April 4th 2009
11:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M.
659 14th Street, Oakland, CA 94612
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