1. Janis Anne Babson was a Canadian girl who received posthumous acclaim with the donation of her corneas for transplant after her death from leukemia at the age of 10.
12 Facts About Janis Babson
1. 2.
Janis Babson's story was reported in a newspaper article syndicated across Canada, inspiring two books and other memorials.
3.
When Janis died of leukemia in 1961, corneal transplantation was a relatively unknown procedure.
4.
Janis Babson happened to see a television program sponsored by an eye bank after watching National Velvet, a program she loved because of her passion for horses.
5.
In early 1959, when Janis Babson was eight years old, her mother noticed that she had lost her energy and appetite.
6.
Janis Babson's father took her to the family pediatrician who noted a great increase in white blood cells from a sample he took.
7.
Janis Babson ordered additional tests and referred her to hematologist Alexander English at the Ottawa Civic Hospital.
8.
The tests revealed that Janis Babson was suffering from a sub-acute form of leukemia.
9.
At that time, leukemia was invariably fatal; with the chemotherapy available, Janis Babson was expected to live about a year.
10.
Janis Babson responded well to treatments which slowed the advance of the leukemia, and survived about 26 months after her diagnosis.
11.
Janis Babson died in her parents' arms at 9:25 pm ET on Friday, May 12,1961.
12.
In 1962, the first of two books on Janis Babson's life was published: Janis Babson of City View by Rena Ray.