Shannon Tavarez Died at 11

Shannon Tavarez Dies at 11: Shannon Tavarez the 11 years that played on Broadway in "The Lion King" and whose fight against leukemia has won the heart of many, including Alicia Keys, Rihanna and 50 Cent, has died.
Shannon Tavarez died Monday afternoon at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, Long Island, says Katharina Harf, co-founder of the bone marrow donor center DKMS. Adriana Douzos, a spokesman for the long term, see Tony win, also confirmed the death but declined further comment.

Shannon Tavarez, who played the young lion Nala, had received a transplant of umbilical cord blood in August. The procedure was performed as an alternative to bone marrow. Shannon Tavarez physician, Dr. Larry Wolfe, said that a perfect match for bone marrow Shannon Tavarez could not be found.
Finding a match was particularly difficult because Shannon Tavarez mother is African American and her father is Hispanic, the Dominican Republic. For bone marrow transplants, minorities and persons of mixed ancestry have greater difficulty in finding good matches because there is not many people in these groups are registered as potential donors. Currently, 83 percent of African-American patients who need marrow transplants do not find matches after six months of research, according to the National Marrow Donor Program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping patients receive a transplant.

Shannon Tavarez has been forced to leave the show in April. She beat hundreds of other hopefuls last year to earn his place playing Nala, the boyfriend of the small and the girlfriend of Simba, the hero of "The Lion King." She split the role with another girl, scene four shows per week for six months.
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