(Click the above Clapperboard to view the soundless video of Jasmina)
She lost her battle to live - but hundreds of leukeamia victims will get a second chance because of Jasmina Anema. The 6-year-old Manhattan girl who has bravely been battling leukeamia for the last year sadly passed away at 10.55pm on wednseday 27th Janurary. Jasmina's brave fight inspired thousands, including celebrities like Rihanna, to donate bone marrow.
She and her best friend, Isabelle, made a video letting people know she desperately needed a bone marrow transplant – and how easy it is to be tested.
The inspirational video brought thousands of people to donate bone marrow, and amazingly, doctors found a partial match, and Jasmina underwent a transplant. She had to overcome tough obstacles during her lengthy hospital stay. The long search for a donor seemed endless at times, and then there were the debilitating treatments that forced her to stay strong as she fought the disease.
Incredibly, Jasmina was released from the hospital in July 2009, where her best friend awaited in open arms outside the hospital doors. Though her battle continued, she was finally allowed to return to her home in the company of her family and friends.
Though firmly entrenched in an abundance of love and hope, in October, Jasmina's cancer returned, and her condition quickly worsened. Her mother, Thea Anema, looked to an experimental treatment that had never been used on a child, but the treatment proved unsuccessful as well.
During her time home, Jasmina was given the honor of being a guest of President Obama's at the White House, where she spent the day with him. The White House released a statement from the president on Thursday after he learned of Jasmina's passing:
"It is with great sadness today that Michelle and I extend our condolences on the passing of Jasmina Anema. Jasmina showed tremendous bravery in the face of adversity, and her ability to stay positive throughout her battle was an inspiration to me and to all those she touched. As the parents of two young girls, our hearts particularly go out to Jasmina's devoted mother Thea. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and with all who knew and loved Jasmina."
Despite her rare condition and the pain that altered her daily life, Jasmina always kept her head up and still lived like any other 6-year-old: showing her excitement about dressing up for Halloween, or putting on temporary tattoos.
And like so many were there for her when she needed support, she was there when her mother needed a boost.
"She says beautiful things to me, like, 'Oh, don't worry Momma, it's going to be okay,' or 'Oh momma, don't cry, think of something beautiful,' and patting me on the back," Thea told CBS 2 in October.
Jasmina and Thea both found comfort simply knowing that more lives were being saved thanks to the thousands of strangers inspired by Jasmina's story who are now on the bone marrow registry.
That is especially important for children with leukemia who've been adopted, and have no contact with family members who are the likeliest match. Jasmina was adopted when she was three days old.
"We call each other M.F.E.O. – made for each other – which is truly from the beginning, there was such a bond and there's still such a bond," Thea said.
Her high-profile fight against cancer inspired more than 10,000 people to register as bone-marrow donors and shone a spotlight on an often-overlooked disease, experts say.
Her impact has been felt already: 12 people who registered in Jasmina-sponsored donor drives have genetically matched leukemia patients.
"That's 12 people who have been given a second chance at life," said Katharina Harf, co-founder of DKMS Americas, an international bone-marrow donor organization.
"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."
Jasmina was diagnosed with leukemia just over a year ago.
Her plight caught the attention of a slew of celebrities, including singer Rihanna and NBA star Paul Pierce, who urged donors to come forward.
Come forward they did. From Harlem to Oakland, Calif., thousands of people got registered at Jasmina-sponsored drives.
"Tens of thousands of people have joined registries in her name and hundreds of lives are going to be saved in the future because of her and her family's willingness to be out there with the story," said Dr. Jeffrey Chell, CEO of the Be the Match Registry.
The makeup of the new donors is key, experts said. Many are African-Americans, who are vastly underrepresented in the world's bone marrow registries.
Because the genetic makeup of African-Americans is more complex than, say, a person with European heritage, they are unlikely to find a match at a registry outside the U.S.
"Jasmina's message resonated not only with African-Americans, but people of mixed heritage and Hispanics, particularly young people," Chell said.
While Jasmina was in the throes of her fight, her mom, Thea Anema, made it her goal to encourage 1 million people to register as donors. Even after her daughter's death, she has signaled she will continue her crusade.
"It's just an incredible story of a family that tried to do so much for their daughter and so much for the thousands of other people who needed a transplant," Chell said.
The ACLT extend their deepest sympathies and condolences to the Anema family during this sad period of time.
