Young 'Lion King' actor doing well post-transplant
Created: Aug 20, 2010 11:00 AM
(AP Photo/Rick Maiman)In good spirits: Eleven-year-old Shannon Tavarez, who starred in the Broadway musical "The Lion King" and suffers with Leukaemia, pictured on July 16.
NEW HYDE PARK, New York (AP) — A doctor says an 11-year-old with leukaemia who played young Nala in "The Lion King" on Broadway is in good spirits after a potentially lifesaving procedure.
Shannon Tavarez received an umbilical-cord blood transplant on Tuesday at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, on New York's Long Island.
Dr. Joel Brochstein said in a statement on Wednesday that there were no complications and that Shannon is in excellent condition. He says it will take at least two weeks to tell whether the procedure was successful.
The actress was forced to quit the show in April. Cast members held bone marrow donor registration drives, but a perfect match was not found.
