Maybe you have heard the voice of the Toon Boom videos in the past. It is the voice of Emru Townsend. Emru and animation are two words that are often in the same sentence. Maybe you have met him at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, or crossed paths with him at the SIGGRAPH conferences. Maybe you read his animation website, fps, or have read his guest commentary on other animation websites or Digital World Tokyo. Maybe you were in Montreal, and happened to be at an animation screening. There was a good chance he was there.

Emru is a capable, intelligent person, and is very memorable, not simply because of his unique first name. In December, he was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, and it was determined shortly after that he would need a bone marrow transplant.
None of his relatives are a match, so he is relying on outside donors. We are asking you to help us encourage members of the animation community to join a bone marrow registry – you or someone you know may be the match Emru is hoping for!

Consider adding your name to the bone marrow registry and help spread the word about the need to register for the bone marrow registry and diversify its database. The 11 million potential donors worldwide can help save a life, Emru Townsend. Even if you do not live in his country, you could help him find a compatible donor.

Many donors are required because the chance of finding a match requires finding the right combination of matching human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) between donor and recipient. Chances of matching are between 1 in 450 and 1 in 750 000 (even greater if the patient has a rare tissue type). The chance of finding a match outside of his family is very low, but it is lowered further if potential anonymous matches are not registered in the system. This is why as many people as possible should be in the worldwide database.

If you are a healthy adult, please consider consenting to be added to the Bone Marrow Donor Registry. It doesn’t matter where you live, because all countries with registries work together across the world.

The process of getting added to the registry varies depending on where you live. Every country starts by getting consent, then arranging for the collection of a blood or mouth swab sample. That’s it.

• In Quebec:
  1. Do not go to Hema Quebec in person. Download the consent form from the website: www.hema-quebec.qc.ca
  2. Fax it back: 514-832-1027.
  3. Hema Quebec will process your request and call you within a few days.
  4. When you meet with them, they will collect a blood sample.
• In Canada (except Quebec) and the US:
  1. Register online (see links below).
  2. A kit will arrive in the mail with instructions.
  3. You will provide a mouth swab sample and send it back.
• In the UK:
  1. Complete the online form (see link below)
  2. You will be contacted by a member of the National Blood Service.
  3. When you meet with them, they will collect a blood sample.

  FAQs and where to go:

Hema Quebec (Quebec): www.hema-quebec.qc.ca

Canada Blood Services (Canada, except Quebec): www.blood.ca

National Marrow Donor Program (US): www.marrow.org

National Blood Service (UK): https://secure.blood.co.uk/bonemarrow.asp

  Who is more likely to match him?

ANYONE from ANY background might be a match. The match may come from the most unexpected donor, or may help someone just as fabulous as Emru.

There is a greater chance that someone from the same ethnic background will match, but the match can come from ANYWHERE.

Please do not assume you will not match for him. Self-selecting yourself out of the process helps no one. You can only truly determine you are not a match by being typed via your mouth swab or blood sample.

Take any of this information and repost it, or send inquiries back to Tamu Townsend (Emru's sister) at tamu@videotron.ca