Keith Leishman, a retired RCMP staff sergeant and former CSIS officer, was sent on a critical international mission this year but not the kind youd think.

It had nothing to so with detective work or espionage: Leishman completed a high-stakes medical mission as a volunteer bone marrow stem cell courier.

The 72-year-old South Surrey resident is one of a dozen retired Mounties recruited and trained by the Bruce Denniston Bone Marrow Society to make crucial deliveries of human tissue to B.C. patients awaiting life-saving treatments.

The Bone Marrow Courier Program was set up by the Society and Vancouver Coastal Health in 2012. Formerly, Vancouver General Hospital staff served as couriers, but as more treatments were performed, some staff were away 50 per cent of the year. And, it was costly.

Because of the delicate nature of human tissue transport, not just any volunteer would do. Yet retired Mounties have experience with stressful operations, understand the importance of securing evidence and confidentiality, and are accustomed to dealing calmly and authoritatively with security.

One of the advantages they see with RCMP officers is the experience they have with continuity of possession, Leishman explained. Just like you take a piece of evidence, once we take possession of those stem cells they cant leave our sight until we turn them over at the lab at VGH. There is a very strict protocol in place.

Deliveries must be made within 72 hours of removal from a donor, as the tissue starts to degrade. Samples must be kept at a precise temperature and in sight at all times even while navigating customs and airport security.

Leishman went on his first mission in mid-September, flying to Berlin to collect a sample. He secured it as his carry-on luggage, got it safely through customs but never through X-rays, which damage the material and completed his mission without incident. Others have faced flight delays, airline strikes and bad weather.

Volunteers often spend just 24 hours on the ground.

Its not a holiday, he said. You are focused on getting that package back to someone who is very ill. It could be someones last chance.

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Ex-Mounties serve as couriers for life-saving bone marrow stem cells