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Over 1,000 Flock to Bone Marrow Drive
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 8, 2009
Modified Mar 8, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 8, 2009
Modified Mar 8, 2009
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Yesterday, the plight of a 6-year-old leukemia patient brought out over a thousand people who signed up as potential bone marrow donors. Friends of Jasmina Anema, who is fighting a very rare and deadly form of leukemia, organized the donor drive because Jasmina is adopted and doesn't have any full siblings to serve as donors. One man told the Daily News its article about Jasmina inspired him to come, "I'm here hoping I can save a life. I have a 25-year-old daughter. I would have wanted someone to do this for her if she was sick as a little girl."
Many others were moved by Jasmina's story and her mother's desire that her daughter survive. NY1 spoke to a woman who explained, "I put myself in that mom's place and I called everyone in my family and told them listen, 'Saturday, let's take a half an hour out of our day and come up here to see if we can be of assistance.'" All told, the drive, at Jasmina's school, P.S. 41 in the West Village, was extended past its 2 p.m. end time and at least 1,000 people signed up (the News says the number was 1,600).
The neighbor had numerous signs promoting the donor drive and the line extended outside the school as the cafeteria was filled with folks registering. Actress Jill Hennessy (Law & Order, Crossing Jordan), whose son attended school with Jasmina and who was one of the many P.S. 41 parents who helped organized the drive, told the News,"I'm blown away by the number of people who came to help Jasmina. It shows what kind of wonderful community we have here in New York City."
If you want to sign up to be a donor, you can do so by mail (check over the eligibility requirements, too). Katharina Harf of DKMS Americas, a non-profit organization that helps people find bone marrow matches, also told NY1, "It's very hard for African-American patients to find a matching donor, because they are under-represented on the national registry and their tissue type is more varied, so it's very hard to find a donor." Jamina's mother Theodora Anema was amazed at the turnout and told the News, "This is beyond anything I could have imagined."
Tagged
bone marrow drive
Jasmina Anema
leukemia
PS 41
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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