Member's daughter seeks bone marrow donors

Member’s daughter suffers disease,
spearheads bone marrow donor drive

Despite suffering a potentially fatal blood disease, 15-year-old Randie Cockman is determined to help others while she works to help herself.

The daughter of CSX conductor Mitchell L. Cockman of UTU Local 1011, Hamlet, N.C., Randie is afflicted with a disease known as Fanconi anemia. While there is no cure, a bone marrow transplant would grant her more time.

Because none of Randie’s family members has a matching marrow type, they approached the Community Marrow Donor Program, which keeps a registry of volunteers willing to donate bone marrow. Unfortunately, a search for a matching donor continues.

In her role as Young Miss Richmond County, and with her own dilemma in mind, Randie has decided to dedicate her efforts to raising money for the Community Marrow Donor Program and finding volunteers to fill out the registry.

Each potential bone marrow donor must be tested and typed, a procedure that carries a $70 laboratory fee that many volunteers can’t afford.

Through the Randie Cockman Marrow Drive, money will be raised to defray these costs, and potential donors will be enlisted for addition to the registry.

As part of the donor recruitment effort, a donor-testing event will take place Saturday, August 28, 1999, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Rockingham Parks and Recreation Building on Rockingham Road in Hamlet, N.C.

Anyone between the ages of 18 and 60, in good general health and not excessively overweight, can become a potential marrow donor. Eligible volunteers simply need to sign a consent form and give a small amount of blood. The Community Marrow Donor Program stresses the need for African-American and other minority donors.

Meanwhile, those who wish to help Randie with her effort to defray the program’s costs can make a contribution in any amount by writing a check payable to "Community Marrow Donor Program" and sending it to: Community Marrow Donor Program, Attention Donor Services, 1201 Hylan Avenue, Hamlet, NC 28345. Please be sure to add the notation "Randie Cockman Marrow Drive" to the check to let Randie know her efforts are producing results.

For more information, contact Mitchell L. Cockman by calling (910) 582-3281.