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REMARKS BY:
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TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
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PLACE:
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Secretary Thompson's Remarks to the International Association for Organ Donation Gala, Dearborn, Michigan
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DATE:
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April 22, 2004
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The Tipping Point
Good evening. I would like to thank Tom Beyersdorf, of Michigan’s Gift of Life Initiative, for that kind introduction and for this humanitarian award. I would also like to thank Fouad Beydoun, the Founder and Executive Director of the IAOD, for inviting me here. I thank Dr. Tina Sauerhammer – Miss Wisconsin and second runner-up in the Miss America pagent – and the Mayor of Dearborn, Michael Guido for attending this event. There are so many dignitaries here this evening. I would like to thank all of you for being here and for your passion and dedication for the cause of organ donation.
I often tell people: don’t take your organs to heaven. Heaven knows we need them here. And heaven knows it takes all of us working together to improve our organ donation rates.
It is such a pleasure to be here with all of you and to be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first organ transplant in America during National Donate Life Month. Just think about how far we’ve come in the last 50 years. This is why we’re here, folks: to celebrate the gift of life and to encourage our fellow Americans to give that gift.
Before I begin, I’d like you to watch a short clip of the Emmy-winning documentary, “No Greater Love,” which we did at HHS and are very proud of. I know a few of you saw a portion of it earlier today, but I really feel it’s a great video that everyone should watch to better understand the issue of organ donation.
[“No Greater Love” plays]
Isn’t that a great video?
Ladies and gentlemen, right now, 84,000 of our fellow Americans are on a waiting list to receive an organ donation. Seventeen of those people will die today, waiting for a transplant. Almost 500 people will die during the month of April – that’s a little less than the number of people in this room – and 6,000 people will die this year.
It doesn’t need to be like this and thanks to your efforts – it’s improving. One organ and tissue donor, just one person, can save or enhance up to 50 other lives across America. One person really can make a difference.
When I became the Secretary of Health and Human Services, I launched the Gift of Life Donation Initiative within 100 days of taking office. I launched this initiative to increase donor awareness and promote donation of organs, tissue, bone marrow and blood. This initiative consists of many components, for example: the Workplace Partnership for Life which has registered close to 10,000 partners –some of whom are in this room tonight.
As just one example of what people are doing through this partnership, Governor Judy Martz of Montana, a living kidney donor, has enrolled the entire Montana State Government into the Workplace Partnership. The Governor’s Donation Council in Montana is working aggressively to spread the word on donation through their improved donor registry and other activities. There are many other fantastic examples people are doing through this Workplace Partnership, many right here in the State of Michigan.
Through the initiative, we also recently held the Women’s Summit on Organ Donation at HHS. I know Tina was there, along with others of you. Earlier this week I visited a high school in Washington, D.C. to launch Decision:Donation, a new organ and tissue donation education program for high school students to help them make informed decisions about donation.
And, just this afternoon I spoke to the Breakthrough Collaborative, which is also part of the initiative. I was joined by nearly 500 leaders from 95 of the nation’s largest hospitals and 42 of the 59 organ procurement organizations. We all gathered to discuss ways to better improve organ donation rates. Just like all of us here this evening, we each had different professions, different backgrounds and came from different parts of this great Nation, but everyone in that room shared one thing in common – every person is committed to improving organ donation rates.
The Collaborative is working hard to spread promising organ donation practices to 200 more of the largest hospitals across the United States. We also signed a new Aim that encourages hospitals to systematically increase the number of organs transplanted per donor. By achieving and maintaining this aim, we will be able to perform nearly 4,000 additional organ transplants each year.
There has never been an organ donation initiative with the scale, scope, speed and intensity of that which HHS is leading. For the first time in the 50 years of transplantation, teams of leaders from the nation’s largest hospitals, the nation’s organ procurement organizations, the nation’s transplant centers and the Department of Health and Human Services are coming together to improve nationwide efforts to increase organ donation. And we’re being met with success.
Tonight, I’m very pleased to report to you that the Gift of Life Donation Initiative is working. Throughout 2003, organ donations increased from 6,187 to 6,454. Overall, that is a 4.3 percent increase. That’s incredible. This is the most significant organ donation increase since 1998.
And 2004 is shaping up to be an even better year. January of this year broke the record for the most donors ever in a single month. In January, donations among Hispanics increased by 22 percent. And donations among African-Americans are up 28 percent. This is great news. These numbers reflect a promising trend.
Ladies and gentleman, through all of our success and our efforts, I believe we have finally reached the tipping point. Much like people buckling their seatbelt in a car or not smoking indoors, becoming an organ donor is finally becoming a way of life.
But it’s up to us to keep this momentum going. We still have a long way to go and I’m asking for your continued help and support. There are still more than 84,000 of our fellow Americans waiting for a transplant. Waiting for another chance at life. I, like you, want to give them that chance.
The Gift of Life Initiative has been with me since the very beginning of me taking office. It is something I am extremely proud of and dedicated to.
Together, we have already made a difference in increasing organ donations in a short period of time, including in the state of Michigan. We have brought organ donation to the tipping point and it is up to all of us to see this through. I hope you continue with your level of passion and dedication to helping this cause.
You’ve helped make this country a stronger and better place. And you’ve helped give thousands of people a second chance at life. What greater gift could you possibly give?
Winston Churchill captured the essence of service to others when he said: “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have already given and that which you will continue to give.
You’ve heard me say it before, and I’ll say it again. If your organs had a chance to vote - your eyes would vote to continue to see. Your heart would vote to continue to beat in someone else’s body. And you know your kidney and liver would want to continue to eat Wisconsin cheese, drink Wisconsin beer and continue the greatness of life.
You are a wonderful group of individuals and I’m very proud to work with you on this quest. I thank all of you for your commitment, your talent, your passion and your dedication to achieving life-saving results.
God Bless You and God Bless the United States of America.
Last Revised: April 28, 2004
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