Ashley Park is looking back on her teenage cancer diagnosis and expressing gratitude for the anonymous donors who kept her alive.

The Emily in Paris actress was 15 years old when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) — a fast-growing cancer that starts in the bone marrow and moves into the blood, according to the American Cancer Society. Her recovery involved nearly a year of inpatient care in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she underwent six rounds of chemotherapy and received daily blood and platelet transfusions.


“My treatment called for really all of your cells being killed within your body, including the cancer cells,” Park told People. “So really the only way to rebuild my body was through blood donations.”

Overcoming Isolation Through Community Support

Park spent eight months stuck in an isolated hospital room away from her friends. Looking back, she realized those daily blood donations were her only real link to the outside world.

“I was really isolated for about eight months,” she told the outlet. “But I realized my only interaction with other people was through blood transfusions,” she continued. “There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of people in the Ann Arbor local community who gave me their blood, and I can say very tangibly, I wouldn’t be here today if it had not been for them.”

Tackling the National Blood Shortage

Now 35, the University of Michigan graduate is using her platform to address the national blood shortage. She teamed up with healthcare company Abbott and the Big Ten Conference for the “We Give Blood” campaign, a college competition challenging 18 universities to rally the most blood donations to win a $1 million grant for student health.

Park pointed out that 25 percent of current blood donors are over 65, which is why she wants to help build a younger donor base. She hopes sharing her story will encourage college students to give blood and support patients currently going through treatment.

“I think everybody has been affected in some way, if not personally, by cancer or critical illnesses,” Park said. “Understanding that people took 10 minutes out of their day just to give part of themselves to me, even if they would never know that it came to me… it means a lot to me.”



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