Donations Being Collected for Janet Liang's Funeral Services

The unexpected on Sept. 12 saddened Pleasanton and the Tri-Valley communities this week.

Early Wednesday morning, followers of the Facebook page, Helping Janet Find Her Perfect Match, woke up to a post that said Liang had died.

According to her Team's statement, Liang went into multiple organ failure for reasons not known.

Liang, a graduate of and UCLA student, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia while attending college in 2009. Liang was finishing her International Studies degree. She was in remission in 2010 and relapsed in 2011.

During the search for a marrow donor, a tearful Liang posted a heartbreaking video on YouTube begging people to donate.

"I don't want to die," she says in the footage.

Watch by clicking here.

Many .

According to the "WeDidIt" website, created to help Liang and her family, "300+ drives, 20,000+ new registrants, and 18 matches for other patients found, Janet finally found her own miracle match. Her generous donor will remain anonymous to her for a year, but she is incredibly thankful for the chance to celebrate a second birthday and make plans for her future."

After a donor was found, she posted a touching video thanking all those who had been helping her and gave an update on her health situation. She ends the video by blowing a kiss to the viewers.

Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi wrote about Liang's death:

"We are incredibly saddened by the news. I think Janet was a wonderful role model. While fighting cancer herself, she put all the energy she had to inform people about the value of bone marrow donation to save lives; not just her own, but also others who are fighting cancer. Our deepest condolences to her family and friends."

Many who knew her , her life and her legacy.

Her Team says that thanks to Liang, 20,000 new donors joined the National Bone Marrow Registry.

On May 9, 2012 Liang was awarded the City of Pleasanton's .

On September 5, a mini-documentary featuring Janet Liang was posted on YouTube. Watch the documentary by clicking here.

As the news this week spread throughout town, residents immediately started asking how they could help her family after the loss of Liang.

A Paypal account has been set up to help raise funds to bring Liang back home from Texas, where she had been recieveing treatment and to help with the costs of the funeral services.

The Team says those who would like to donate can enter helpingjanet@gmail.com as the recipient, and the money will go to Tami Lin, a team member, who will collect the money and give it to Liang's parents. 

Team Janet issued a statement about her:

"On September 12th, our dear friend, 25-year-old Janet Liang, passed away after enduring a three year battle with leukemia. Words cannot describe our grief, but we would like to express our many thanks to the community of Pleasanton for their support in finding Janet a bone marrow match.

Many drives were held, and many people attended and committed to being donors- for that, we are deeply thankful. Janet fought cancer through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, a clinical trial, and all the rigorous treatment that followed. She didn't just fight for herself, but also for patients like her who were in need of life-saving bone marrow transplants.

She built Team Janet from the ground up, and inspired thousands of people to raise awareness of the need for more Asian American bone marrow donors. Janet made her mark on the world in the short time that she was with us. Her legacy: more than 20,000 new donors joined the national registry and several patients found their matches as a result of this. 

Ultimately, Janet also found a match and received a transplant on September 5th. For reasons we do not yet fully understand, she went into multiple organ failure and passed away in the early hours on the 12th. It has been a devastating blow to all of us, especially Janet's family, who lost a beloved daughter and sister. We are asking for members of the community to help Janet's parents through this difficult time by contributing towards funeral expenses.

They want to bring their daughter back from Texas, where she was receiving treatment, to the place she called home. Surrounded by friends and family, they will hold a service to honor her memory. Please donate to our team's PayPal account by visiting this link and entering helpingjanet@gmail.com as the recipient. 

A member of Team Janet will receive your donation and forward it to Janet's parents. Thank you again for your support and help us honor Janet, a beautiful young woman who opened her heart to the world and never gave up on what she believed in."  

- Nimmie Singh, on behalf of Team Janet.

Journalist Tanya Rose contributed to this report.

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