Jamie Ficko was diagnosed with cancer last October. Doctors told the 37-year-old father of three young children he had acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

"Pretty much the minute he was diagnosed he was in the hospital and into isolation," Ficko's friend Justin Holmes told Saskatoon Morning's Jennifer Quesnel.

Aggressive chemotherapy initially put the cancer into remission, but it quickly came back.

The former Humboldt Bronco hockey player's next step was to have a stem cell transplant or bone marrow transplant.

Justin Holmes and Cynthia Ficko have helped put together a registry drive to recruit more stem cell donors after Cynthia's husband Jamie needed a transplant but couldn't find a match. (CBC News)

He was put into an international database. Jamie's wife Cynthia said they were told at first there was a good chance they would find a match.

"So we were actually really shocked when they told us he didn't have [a match]," she said.

Jamie didn't have time to wait for a match, so they decided on a bone marrow transplant from his father even though he was only a 50 per cent match. Jamie had the transplant last week. He's now recovering at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon.

That means the other 75 percent of the time they are actually looking to a complete stranger to save their life. - Sarah Jasmins

His experience and that of his family and friends has sparked a drive to register more potential stem cell donors.

They have put together a stem cell swab drive to get more people added to the registry.

Cynthia said it's easier than you think to save a life.

All you have to do to become a donor is fill out a one page health form and get your cheek swabbed. (Travis McEwan/CBC)

"Your stem cells come out into your bloodstream and you can just give blood," she said. "It takes about four hours, but it's really quite simple."

The drive takes place tomorrow afternoon in Upper Place Riel at the University of Saskatchewan from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. CST.

Sarah Jasmins, stem cell territory manager with Canadian Blood Services, said there are more than 1,300 Canadians in need of a stem cell transplant who have yet to find a match.

Holmes said they are hoping to get a minimum of 200 people signed up at the U of S Friday.

"It involves a little bit of paperwork, roughly 10 minutes, then they get a saliva swab and you are registered."

Ficko was lucky his dad was a partial match, but not everyone is that fortunate.

"Not everybody has a healthy parent, sibling or child that can be a possible half match donor," Cynthia Ficko said. "So we just want to raise awareness of how important it is to be a stem cell donor."

She said her husband is doing well in his recovery, but must stay in isolation for four weeks.

"As your immune system is depleted, completely wiped out, they add in the new stem cells and then they keep your system low so that the donor cells can take over and rebuild and make you a healthier person," she said.

"The doctor said he is doing awesome so far and they are really just waiting for an infection to happen because 90 per cent of the time that's why they stay in hospital for four weeks."

Holmes, a former U of S Huskie hockey player, has gathered signed hockey jerseys to raffle off to people who join the registry.

A tray of stem cells. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Jasmins said a person needing a stem cell transplant has only a 25 per cent chance of finding a match within their family.

"That means the other 75 percent of the time they are actually looking to a complete stranger to save their life."

Jasmins said it's rare somebody on the database will receive a phone call because it's like finding a needle in a haystack.

They're particularly looking for men between the ages of 17 and 35 because stem cells from this age group and gender tend to have better results.