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9 · Wednesday, August 4, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com Testing takes time David may not have Continued from page 1 close -- but they felt it was the right thing to do, I was very touched by that." Some of the people showed up to the clinic in their work clothes, as they spent their break waiting in line to register. Mike was touched by their generosity. "People actually came out on their break from my local Sobeys store and they actually came out with their work outfits on, on their break, waited an hour, (to) hour and a half in line, got the work done (and) got back to the store," said Smyth. "I can only imagine the kind of trouble that caused in the store, and they still did it. The store manager was there and cashiers that I've been seeing for the last five years. "(We'd) never really spoken before and when I approached them with the article to post it to try and create awareness, they were an automatic yes. They barely know me." Unfortunately, the registration line up was so long, some people had to leave before being able to register and donate. "We had a few people, unfortunately, leave because they couldn't wait in the line. This is the only place yesterday that you could go," said Smyth. "We (were) lucky enough to get them out, it's a shame to lose anybody because of the line." The 310 buccal swabs that were collected at the clinic will now be sent off to the HLA lab in Ottawa for processing, where Canada Blood Services will test for the markers or DNA pieces, which are extracted from the cheek cells. This will take three to four weeks before it can be uploaded to the international registry. Because of the amount of DNA samples, other events and online registrations, the information is only uploaded once a month. The amount of time it takes to process the swabs and upload the data might not be quick enough to help David, says Smyth. He would like to see more clinics held to increase awareness and give people more chances to register and donate. He is frustrated about the timing and hopes something can be done to speed up the process somehow. "There has to be a place for match," said Marulanda. "So I want to try and help the community find matches and educate people on how we can be a bone marrow transplant donor." And since Marulanda had her transplant, she is doing very well, she says. "I'm here standing, getting into trouble," Marulanda joked. "So, it's very successful. I have to go for a follow-up, but so far, so good." "You can be the hero and save someone's life. Tomorrow it could be your son, daughter, grandparents, your cousins (or) nephews," said Marulanda. "You never know, you could be somebody's match and help someone keep going alive because today it's for you, tomorrow it could be for me." Because the swab clinics aren't held on a regular basis, Bromley recommends people go online to register as a donor at the OneMatch website where people will be sent a buccal package in the mail within five business days to take their own samples. "We try to steer people to the online registry because it is very fast and convenient for people. When we do a DNA swab event, it is usually in response to a local patient or a community partner," said Bromley. See Swab page 10 premiere CELEBRATING D a n c e Tr a i n i n g a t i t s B e s t ! D A N C E INC. 11 YEARS MICHELLE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVER LINING UP TO HELP: From left, Brent Stevenson, Michael Damiani, Mark Rauseo, along with other friends of Will Smyth, fill in forms at the OneMatch clinic last Wednesday to find a donor match for Will's brother, David, a 20-year-old Oakville resident who needs a bone marrow transplant to live. people to physically donate and it has to be processed quickly. We need to get more Canadians aware so they will come out," said Smyth. "A number of people were as passionate as I was. I explained to them today we have this clinic, but tomorrow there's no place in Canada for any follow up people to go. "It's just a shame to me that it takes so long. I'm just worried about the delays." John Bromley, public affairs manager for Canadian Blood Services' OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network admits the amount of time it takes to upload data may be long, but even a quicker turnaround time wouldn't increase the odds of finding a match. Chances are that if a match is found, it will come from someone already on the international registry, according to Bromley. "To be honest, even though it seems like a long time in between, it is what our obligation is to being part of the international registry," said Bromley. "I'm not saying they won't find that match from yesterday, but of course there's a much better chance of finding that match on the existing registry, which is going to be searching 14 million potential donors." As of July 5, out of the nearly 14 million people in the international registry, 261,233 of those are Canadians. In 2008, 303 Canadians received stem cell transplants from unrelated donors. According to OneMatch, less than 30 per cent of patients will find a match in their family. But for 46-year-old Margarita Marulanda, of Oakville, she was one of the fortunate few who received a stem cell transplant from a family member. Marulanda was diagnosed with leukemia in 2005 and received the bone marrow transplant in February 2006 at McMaster University Hospital from her sister. As a recipient, Marulanda came to the clinic to offer the Smyth family and potential donors some encouragement and support. "Luckily I had a match in my family, it was my sister. 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