Donating stem cells can be vital in saving someone's life.

For nurse Joel Koette, that was the case as a stem cell donation six years ago saved his life.

Now, he tries to give back and help out as many people as he can, by encouraging the community to join the stem cell registry. On Friday, Dec. 13, he hosted an event at Kelowna General Hospital for the second straight year.

"We're trying to find people to be on the stem cell registry in Canada," said Koette.

Six years ago, Koette had leukemia and had it for about eight months. After six months, he was told at the time, there was no stem cell match in Canada.

But a match was eventually found, from someone who registered their stem cells in Germany. The stem cell transplant saved his life and that's why Koette is alive and healthy today, and doing everything he can to encourage people to register.

Anyone interested in signing up to the stem cell registry can on the Canadian Blood Service .