A campaign to recruit more bone marrow donors will go ahead today despite the death of the woman it aimed to save, pianist Janice Tang Wai-yi.
Tang, who was in her early 30s, died on Friday night after a 13-month fight against acute leukaemia.
Her plight has already encouraged 3,800 donors who signed up this month. And her family and campaigners said their donations could still save hundreds more waiting for life-saving bone marrow transplants.
'At the end, she was in pain. Her breathing was difficult,' her sister, Winnie, said yesterday.
But she said her sister did not die in vain because of the overwhelming public response to their appeal.
'I would like to thank all the people who supported my sister and who came for the blood test. At the last moment, many people came forward. I hope my sister can help other leukaemia patients to find a suitable donor.
'I still hope people will continue to support the drive for marrow donors.'