Technology and animation journalist/editor Emru Townsend died last night. Although he was lucky enough to get a bone marrow transplant for his Monosomy 7--and his site HealEmru.com has doubtlessly helped many others to get the marrow they need--his transplant did not cure the disease.

I knew Emru only a little bit, completely through e-mail. From what I saw there--and from everything else I knew of him--he was intelligent, funny, and sweet. He leaves behind a wife and young son.

I wish I had gotten to know him better. I wish he were still alive.

1. Registering online at the National Marrow Donor Registry is pretty easy doesn't take very long. I did it last Thursday.

2. Thanks to a new technology called PBSC, sometimes the needed stem cells can be harvested through a procedure not unlike donating blood or platelets. No anesthesia needed. An old friend of mine is eligible for a bone marrow transplant using PBSC.

3. Getting into the database is the longest part of the screening process. My swab kit is already here, but it will take weeks to process it if I send it back the normal way. If I get it to my friend's family, though, they can expedite it through his marrow drive on Saturday.

I'm about to go swab my mouth and cross my fingers right now.