In Tireless Pursuit of Marrow Donors

Rockville Man an Advocate for African Americans in Need of Transplants

Rocky Twyman doesn't get much sleep. He also doesn't have much time for a social life. He's a choir director and organist who can be found most weekends on the piano stool at somebody's church. He's a public relations consultant, constantly juggling the needs of his clients.

But in recent years, much of his time has been devoted to saving the lives of African Americans with bone marrow cancer.

Twyman, 59, of Rockville, has hosted several bone marrow drives and added more than 14,000 minorities to the donor list in the past 15 years. Last year, he focused on helping to find a bone marrow match for Ramon Hilliard, 16, a 10th-grader at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, who survived a bout with leukemia after receiving a bone marrow transplant.

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society -- made up of the 109 living recipients of the government's highest military honor -- selected Twyman as Maryland's finalist for its new Above & Beyond Citizen Honors. The society presented the award to three civilian heroes for extraordinary acts of courage or a record of exemplary service.

During the award ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, the hosts, former secretary of state Colin L. Powell and Brian Williams of NBC News, recognized Twyman and the other finalists, one from each state and the District.

"Rocky is an amazing person. He is someone who reached out to me and stepped up to the plate," said Denae Hilliard, Ramon's mother, reflecting on her son's ordeal. "He led my journey with Ramon of getting people to join the registry, and he stuck with me not only to the end, but he is still with me now."

Twyman's activism has been significant because just 8 percent of the patients on the national bone marrow registry are minorities. That makes finding a bone marrow match extremely difficult for minorities suffering from potentially fatal diseases, such as leukemia, lupus and sickle cell anemia. Patients are most likely to find a match within their ethnic group.

Because of the demographics of Prince George's, which is majority-black, Twyman does much of his work in the county, hosting bone marrow drives and health screenings in barbershops, beauty salons and churches.

"There is a strong church community, and people really seem interested in living out their Christian faith," Twyman said. He said his faith compels him to help others.

Twyman grew up in Atlanta, the youngest of four children. He said two of his teachers inspired him to become the man he is today.

"They constantly stressed to me the importance of giving back to the community, and if we loved God, we should also love our fellow man," he said.

At 13, he participated in civil rights protests in Atlanta. Even as a college student, he always reached out to help others, said Phillip Valentine, a physician living in Torrance, Calif., who was Twyman's roommate at Loma Linda University in California.