Rap star Nelly to launch campaign for sick sister

Rap star Nelly is to spearhead a nationwide bone marrow drive and awareness campaign to find a donor for his sister who has leukaemia.

Nelly and his 29-year-old sister Jackie Donahue would enlist other celebrities to educate the public about the safety of donating bone marrow and to find a donor for Donahue and others, his publicist Juliette Harris said.

The 28-year old rapper, born Cornell Haynes, won a Grammy Award this year for best male rap solo performance for Hot in Herre. He also won for best rap-sung collaboration for Dilemma, featuring Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child.

Harris said she could not yet release the names of the other celebrities who will be involved in the Jes Us 4 Jackie campaign, but said the celebrities would be present at nine donor test sites in Los Angeles, New York and Nelly’s home town of St Louis on June 21. They will participate in a public service announcement that will be aired on television and radio ahead of the donor drive.

“It’s a challenge and we have our work cut out for us, but we’re confident that we’re going to find Jackie a donor and also educate people about the diseases and the process” for gathering stem cells and bone marrow, Harris said.