Six-Year-Old Jasmina Anema Dies of Leukemia
A young girl’s battle became the battle of a whole lot of other people – but hers was a battle, unfortunately, that she was unable to win.
Six-year-old Jasmina Anema made a lot of high-profile friends who eventually fought for her cause. She was suffering from leukemia and became the rallying point behind a charity, “One for Jasmina,” that moved celebrities such as Rihanna, Kelly Rowland and Lamar Odom to encourage people to register as bone marrow donors.
Jasmina passed away on Wednesday in New York. On Thursday, Lamar wrote on his Twitter page: “I’m very sad to hear that my little friend, Jasmina, lost her battle with leukemia. My prayers are with her family.” Lamar Odom speaks in a video for DKMS Americas, the world’s largest bone marrow donor center, along with Isabelle Huurman, Jasmina’s best friend. She was diagnosed with leukemia a little over a year ago.
Her death, however, may not exactly be in vain. Jasmina’s battle with cancer resulted in the registration of more than ten thousand people as bone-marrow donors. What this translates to is a bigger opportunity for hundreds of leukemia patients to get a match and receive a bone marrow transplant right when they need it the most.
DKMS Americas co-founder Katharina Harf gave the following statement: “Her strength and positive attitude provided inspiration – not only to the 140,000 people diagnosed with blood cancer such as leukemia or lymphoma each year – but to the thousands of healthy Americans who were inspired to register as donors.”
Tags: blood cancer, cancer deaths, Jasmina Anema, leukemia, lymphoma
