Jennifer Lopez has urged America's Hispanic population to become bone marrow donors in a bid to save the life of a woman dying from blood cancer.
One Janet Ovalles desperately needs the transplant, but has failed to find a suitable donor from within her family, or from the 10 million possible donors on the worldwide bone marrow register. Experts say a possible donor is most likely to be found in someone from a similar ethnic background to Ovalles, hence the Lopez public appeal.
J Lo, herself of Puerto Rican origin, told reporters last week: "I am a young Hispanic woman, so is Janet. I could empathise with her situation so much. These things just make you realise that we're all interconnected and depend on one another".
Katharina Harf of the centre caring for Ovalles told reporters: "It's been very hard to recruit Hispanic bone marrow donors, but with Jennifer's help we really feel we can get the Hispanic community on board".