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This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, Aug. 1, 2002 |
Contact: | HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343 |
Last year in one of my first acts as Secretary, I created the Gift of Life Donation Initiative. This initiative helped increase the number of organ donors almost 7 percent in the past year. Because of this increase and because of someone's selfless act of love and compassion, an additional 1,000 people who needed transplants last year received them. More importantly, among our minority communities there was a 13 percent increase in African-American donors, and a nearly 14 percent increase in Hispanic donors.
However, we still have a long way to go. While about 66 people receive an organ transplant each day, another 17 people on the waiting list die because not enough organs are available.
We must continue to reach out to our minority communities -- to reach them with the message that organ donation saves lives. It's easy -- just sign a donor card and then tell your loved ones of your wishes.
Please join with me today, on National Minority Donor Awareness Day, to celebrate the gifts that so many have given and help encourage even more to choose organ donation and give the greatest gifts of all -- hope and life.
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