After processing tissue typing results for 25,000 of the bone marrow samples that were collected at Ezer Mizion's Save Alan Cohen Drive, 8 matches were found between people who joined the Bone Marrow at the drive and patients who are waiting for a stem cell transplant. Two of the transplants have been scheduled for the coming weeks. The remaining blood samples are still in the scanning process. The blood sample scanning - from the point the vials are received until the genetic tissue typing and DNA classification are completed - is a complex process that takes time. The genetic testing is done in a secure and specialized manner to ensure accuracy. In the course of the year 2009, 646 bone marrow matches were found and 138 transplants were facilitated by Ezer Mizion's Registry. Since Registry's establishment, a total of 2,485 potential donor/recipient matches were made and 597 life-saving bone marrow transplants took place, over half of them within the last three years. As a result of the most recent drive, Ezer Mizion's Registry expanded to include almost 520,000 potential bone marrow donors. Dr. Bracha Zisser, director of Ezer Mizion's Bone Marrow Registry: "There is no greater mitzvah than to save human life. In the last few years, there has been a steady rise in the number of people joining our Registry, and we hope that this trend will continue and intensify. "We're truly sorry that a stem cell donor was not found in time for Alan Cohen, but are elated about the eight matches that were located thanks to him. It's important to keep in mind that expanding the registry will serve needs for future life-saving transplants of many other patients everywhere. "Our goal is to reach the target number of a million potential donors in the registry. That would give over 90% of the world's Jewish population a good chance of finding a matching stem cell donor should they need it."