Harker Heights Third-Grader Needs bone marrow Transplant After Leukemia Returns
Nov 10, 2025 — by Transplant News
USA: A nine-year-old girl from Harker Heights, Jasmine Guillen, is facing a critical turn in her fight against leukemia and is in need of a bone marrow transplant. Jasmine first received a leukemia diagnosis at 15 months and again at about seven years old; a transplantation had been scheduled as the next step in her treatment. Weeks before that planned procedure, medical staff found leukemia cells in her blood, forcing a postponement and a new course of chemotherapy to try to achieve remission before any transplant can proceed.
The discovery of active disease so close to the operation has reshaped the family’s immediate medical timeline. Jasmine has returned to chemotherapy with the explicit goal of clearing cancer from her bloodstream so clinicians can re-evaluate her for the bone marrow transplant. Until she reaches remission, the transplantation cannot be performed, and the family remains hospital-bound while doctors monitor her response to treatment and make plans for the next steps.
Support has converged around Jasmine from her school community at Vintage Christian Academy and from local churches. The school launched a fundraising drive called the Warrior Buzz Off, a grade-by-grade competition in which students filled gallon jugs with coins, emptied piggy banks, and collected donations. The third graders, Jasmine’s classmates, have raised the most so far — nearly $4,000 — and stand to win the lighthearted incentive of shaving Coach Bacon’s head if they remain the top fundraisers. Parents, teachers and neighbors are contributing money and prayers as bills and hospital stays mount.
The family’s immediate objective is clear: get Jasmine into remission so medical teams can move forward with the bone marrow transplant that offers the best chance against recurring leukemia. For now the community’s fundraising and emotional support are helping cover costs and sustain the household while doctors and the family wait to see whether chemotherapy achieves the remission needed to return the transplant to the front burner.
