Marlie Curwin is a 14-month-old baby who always has a smile and a kiss for those around her, despite enduring three rounds of chemotherapy.

Marlie was diagnosed with leukemia three months ago and she still hasn't found a bone marrow match.

“She just had a low grade fever that wasn’t going away and the first time I took her to outpatients, they just said it was viral and it would go away,” says Erin Curwin, Marlie’s mother.

Except it didn’t. Shortly after, Erin got the news she had never expected.

“We arrived here (in Halifax) January 7 and January 8th we received the diagnosis of AML leukemia,” says Erin. “It was the worst day of my life.”

Since then, Erin and Marlie have up-rooted their lives in Sackville, N.B. to live at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax.

Family visits often and, despite celebrating her first birthday in hospital, Marlie has never stopped smiling.

“She's in the playroom, she really loves the staff, she's willing to give a smile and a kiss to everyone,” says Kristina Chapman, nurse practitioner.

Marlie has completed three rounds of chemotherapy and is currently waiting for a bone marrow donor match.

“Anyone who needs a bone marrow transplant, only about 25 per cent of donors are identified within the immediate family,” says Chapman.

Marlie hasn't found her match yet, but it hasn’t been for lack of trying. Family has organized drives to find a donor in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. So far, hundreds of people have been swabbed.

“Sixty per cent of people looking for a match don’t find one, so we need more people in the database,” says Joe Dipenta, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society regional director.

Dipenta says OneMatch, the stem cell and marrow network, needs more names. If you're found to be a match after a simple cheek swab you're asked to come in for the donation procedure.

“It’s very non-invasive, painless,” says Dipenta. “You sit down and basically get an IV, you're in and out and you could save somebody's life, so it’s huge.”

Erin is hoping a match is found for Marlie before May.

“If we don't find a donor within that time frame, then we have to start the fourth round of chemo,” says Erin.

More OneMatch swab drives are planned. Fundraisers are also taking the financial pressure off the Curwins.

Erin hopes the swab drives will not only help Marlie, but also others in need of a match.

“If they’re not a match for Marlie, they could be a match for another little girl or boy,” says Erin.

Anyone between the ages of 17 and 35 is eligible to join OneMatch and because matching stem cells or bone marrow is so precise, OneMatch is also looking for people of different ethnic backgrounds.

If you want to get swabbed, there are match-drives planned in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. You can also request a free kit from Canadian Blood Services.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelly Linehan