Janis Anne Babson (September 9, 1950 – May 12, 1961) was a Canadian girl who received posthumous acclaim with the donation of her

cornea The cornea is the transparency (optics), transparent front part of the eyeball which covers the Iris (anatomy), iris, pupil, and Anterior chamber of eyeball, anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and Lens (anatomy), lens, the cornea ...

s for transplant after her death from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

at the age of 10. Her story was reported in a newspaper article syndicated across Canada, inspiring two books and other memorials. When Janis died of leukemia in 1961, corneal transplantation was a relatively unknown procedure. Although parents who lose young children frequently donate some of their organs to others, Janis's bequest was significant because the donation of her eyes at her death was her own idea, and it inspired many other people—across Canada and elsewhere—to become cornea donors as well.

White Cane Week

Janis happened to see a television program sponsored by an

eye bank Eye banks recover, prepare and deliver donated human eye, eyes for cornea transplants and research. The first successful cornea transplant was performed in 1905 and the first eye bank was founded in 1944. Currently, in the United States, eye banks ...

after watching ''

National Velvet ''National Velvet'' is a novel by Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), first published in 1935. It was illustrated by Laurian Jones, Bagnold's daughter, who was born in 1921. The novel tells the story of a teenaged girl who wins a horse racing compet ...

'', a program she loved because of her passion for horses. When her youngest brother fell asleep on her lap, she did not want to wake him and remained in front of the television set when a White Cane Week special aired. The program's hosts explained how some cases of blindness could be cured with corneal donations, restoring a recipient's eyesight. After the program Janis, moved, told her mother and father that when she died she wanted to donate her eyes to the Eye Bank. Her parents—Harry Rudolphe (Rudy) Babson, a member of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

and Rita Quinn Babson—knew their daughter was serious about the gift, but it was a big decision for such a young girl.

Leukemia

In early 1959, when Janis was eight years old, her mother noticed that she had lost her energy and appetite. Her father took her to the family pediatrician who noted a great increase in

white blood cell White blood cells (scientific name leukocytes), also called immune cells or immunocytes, are cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign entities. White blood cells are genera ...

s from a sample he took. He ordered additional tests and referred her to

hematologist Hematology ( spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the production ...

Alexander English at the

Ottawa Civic Hospital The Ottawa Civic Hospital is one of three main campuses of The Ottawa Hospital – along with the General and Riverside campuses. With 549 beds (including the Heart Institute), the Civic Campus has the region's only adult-care trauma centre, servin ...

. The tests revealed that Janis was suffering from a sub-acute form of leukemia. At that time, leukemia was invariably fatal; with the chemotherapy available, Janis was expected to live about a year. She responded well to treatments which slowed the advance of the leukemia, and survived about 26 months after her diagnosis.

Death

Despite a change in drugs from

methotrexate Methotrexate, formerly known as amethopterin, is a chemotherapy agent and immunosuppressive drug, immune-system suppressant. It is used to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, and ectopic pregnancy, ectopic pregnancies. Types of cancers it is u ...

mercaptopurine Mercaptopurine (6-MP), sold under the brand name Purinethol among others, is a medication used for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Specifically it is used to treat acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), Crohn's d ...

, Janis's condition deteriorated in early 1961 as her leukemia worsened and she was hospitalized and released twice. In early May, she was hospitalized for the third (and final) time. Janis died in her parents' arms at 9:25 pm ET on Friday, May 12, 1961. Throughout her illness, Janis reminded her parents about her desire to donate her eyes; their original reluctance gave way when Rudy signed the consent forms for the donation of Janis's eyes a few hours before her death. Janis is buried in Notre Dame Cemetery in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. Her funeral

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was attended by her entire school.

Legacy

Janis's best friend, Tricia Kennedy, moved from Ottawa to

Chalk River Chalk River (2016 population: 1029) is a community located within the town of Laurentian Hills in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Upper Ottawa Valley along Highway 17 (Ontario), Highway 17 (Trans-Canada Highway), inland ...

, Ontario, with her family. When the Kennedys were interviewed by the local paper as part of a get-to-know-your-neighbours feature, Tricia Kennedy announced that her best friend had died of leukemia and donated her eyes to the Eye Bank in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Impressed, the reporter then contacted the ''

Ottawa Journal The ''Ottawa Journal'' was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1885 to 1980. It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the ''Ottawa Evening Journal''. Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the ...

''. Tim Burke, a reporter for the ''Journal'', contacted the Babsons; his interview became "Little Janis" in his May 31, 1961 "Below the Hill" column. The response was immediate: from Ottawa Mayor

Charlotte Whitton Charlotte Elizabeth Whitton (March 8, 1896 – January 25, 1975) was a Canadian feminist and mayor of Ottawa. She was the first woman mayor of a major city in Canada, serving from 1951 to 1956 and again from 1960 to 1964. Whitton was a Canadi ...

to retired pharmacist Abe Silver (who created an endowment to

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

in Janis's name for leukemia research) to groups and individuals who set a record for the number of pledged donations to the Eye Bank. Janis_Babson_Daffodil

In 1962, the first of two books on Janis's life was published: ''Janis of City View'' (Holy Cross Press) by Rena Ray. The following year Lawrence Elliott, a correspondent for ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'', published ''A Little Girl's Gift'' (

Holt, Rinehart & Winston Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of the ...

). Six months earlier, a condensed version had appeared in the June 1963 issue of ''Reader's Digest'' entitled ''The Triumph of Janis Babson''.

Tributes

The Internet has spawned several websites dedicated to Janis Babson's memory. In addition, her family (mother and siblings) have created a memorial

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page where many whose lives were touched by Janis's can leave comments and posts. A 50th-anniversary tribute, arranged by the Babson family, was held May 27, 2011, in Ottawa to commemorate a half-century since Janis's death. It featured Lawrence Elliott, a new commemorative edition of ''A Little Girl's Gift'', and artist Caroline Langill (''Custody of the Eyes''). A large-cupped, broad-petalled

daffodil ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as '' Sternbergia'', '' ...

, white with pink rims, has been named after Janis as a tribute.

Notes

References

External links

Retelling of ''A Little Girl's Gift'' and ''Janis of City View''Lenten Meditation: Character produces hope
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babson, Janis 1950 births 1961 deaths Canadian children Deaths from acute lymphocytic leukemia Deaths from leukemia in Canada Deaths from cancer in Ontario Child deaths from disease Burials at Notre-Dame Cemetery (Ottawa)