Mar 7, 2009 7:45 pm US/Eastern
NY Girl Desperately Needs Bone Marrow Transplant
Jasmina Anema, 6, Has Rare Form Of Leukemia
CBS 2's Kathryn Brown contributed to this report.
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Jasmina Anema, 6, has a rare form of leukemia and is in desperate search for a bone marrow transplant.
CBS
It's a race against time for a little girl battling leukemia, but Saturday she got an amazing outpouring of support.
CBS 2 has been bringing you stories of 6-year-old Jasmina Anema all week, and Saturday her family and friends organized a bone marrow drive to find a donor match – and they were overwhelmed by the outcome.
None of the people waiting in line outside PS 41 had ever met Jasmina, but they were all trying to save her life.
"I was immediately touched by the story," Kimberly Rivera said.
"It kind of feels like the right thing to do," Lezette Roulhac said.
Jasmina was diagnosed in January with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia, and she desperately needs a bone marrow transplant to survive.
"When Jasmina's better, me and Jasmina can have the all-you-can-eat candy day!" Jasmina's best friend, Isabel Detrick, said.
We first learned about Jasmina when Isabel, who's just five years old, made a video asking for help.
Jasmina is adopted, so her mother, Thea, isn't a match.
With the clock ticking, they're reaching out to strangers for help – and strangers are reaching back.
"It's amazing, really amazing," Thea Anema said. "My friends have worked around the clock to organize this for my daughter, and I cannot even express the love I'm feeling."
The odds of finding a perfect marrow match are about one-in-a-million, and for Jasmina, it's even tougher because she's African American.
"They have a more varied tissue type, therefore it's so much harder for an African American patient to find a donor," DKMS America's Katharina Harf says.
Singer Kelly Rowland and Knicks center Chris Wilcox have visited Jasmina in the hospital. On Saturday actress Jill Hennessy, whose son is a classmate of Jasmina's, lent her voice to the cause.
"We have a very limited time, unfortunately, so whoever can come out and donate – all it takes is a swab in your mouth," Hennessy said.
"I told my co-workers and everybody's already been down her," Erica Edwards said. "It just touched me."
"This could be a good opportunity for her to live and give her some time," Reynaldo Bess said. "Hopefully I am [a match], and if I am, I have no problem helping her – because she's the future."
Jasmina's mom is praying that's true.
More than 1,600 people came out for Saturday's marrow drive.
Click here to watch a video by Jasmina's best friend Isabel.
Click here for more on Jasmina's condition.
Click here for more information on bone marrow transplants.
Click here for more from the NYU Langone Medical Center.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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