Chris LeBrun’s family made a mission of helping strangers in Bedford, N.S. Now they’re counting on strangers to help them.

LeBrun, 48, needs to find a rare genetic match who can provide him with stem cells.

Right now, that means convincing Haligonians age 17 to 35 to submit their DNA for testing on Saturday at the LeBrun Centre (36 Holland Avenue in Bedford) between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

They just might turn out to be one person LeBrun needs.

We're just hoping that all that good karma comes back at them tomorrow - Barb Leighton

The accountant’s problems came on suddenly. "He was feeling great in March and April, and was feeling winded playing ball hockey in May,” said an old friend, Barb Leighton.

He was diagnosed with leukemia, admitted to the hospital that day and put on chemotherapy the next. In late fall, LeBrun learned he would need a stem cell transplant in order to survive, said Leighton.

He, his wife and two teenage sons live in Ontario, but his friends and family thought to turn 2,000 kilometres for help, to an arena in Bedford.

LeBrun Centre named for his great-uncle

The LeBrun Recreation Centre and its rink were named after LeBrun’s great-uncle Gerald, a doctor who carried on doing house calls well into the 20th century, long after other doctors stopped.

“He would go out all hours of the day or night,” said Leighton.

LeBrun was also a founding member of the local Lion’s Club and an early advocate for Canada’s blood bank, often holding clinics and encouraging those around him to get in the habit of donating.

The legacy has trickled through the generations: Chris LeBrun was aiming for his 100th blood donation when he got sick, and his mother has donated more than 200 times, said Leighton.

“We're just hoping that all that good karma comes back at them tomorrow.”

The Nova Scotia members of the LeBrun family, including a radiologist, will work with some of his friends to staff a cheek-swabbing clinic on Saturday at the arena, starting at 11 a.m.

“The goal with these clinics is always 50 people, but we're optimistic and we're prepared for a couple hundred,” Leighton said.

“People will come in, they'll fill out some paperwork, and all they have to do is stick a Q-tip in their mouth.”

White men aged 17-35 ideal

The stem cell bank only accepts new donors between the ages of 17 and 35, particularly men, since patients who receive donations from young males have the best outcomes. The bank is 71 per cent Caucasian, so donors of other ethnicities are much in need.

It can be hard finding the right candidates, said Holly Sinclair, Halifax-based territory manager for Canadian Blood Services.

“Because we're looking for the young donors, we go to all the high schools and universities in this area and have swab events,” she said.

“It's very targeted efforts.”

People who don't attend a clinic can also sign up online and receive a swab kit in the mail.

Most often, Canadians end up matched up with donors from other countries, said Sinclair. There are 240,000 Canadians on the registry, and 24 million in the worldwide network of registries.

At any given time, around 1,000 Canadians are looking for a match, and right now the number is 800, said Sinclair.

Anyone who gives a sample at the Bedford clinic must be willing to donate to other patients, not just LeBrun. However, for LeBrun, adding to the bank “has become the focus of his life,” said Leighton.

“He talks about doing it for other people.”