For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 8, 2004
National Donate Life Month, 2004
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first successful organ
transplant in the United States. Since that time, organ and tissue
transplantation have significantly increased, and last year, more than
25,000 Americans received an organ transplant. National Donate Life
Month provides the opportunity to raise awareness about organ and
tissue donation and the importance of sharing your decision to donate
with your family.
While medical advances are enabling Americans to receive lifesaving
transplants, there are not enough donors to help everyone in need.
Last year, close to 6,000 Americans died while waiting for organ
transplants. Currently, more than 84,000 of our citizens are on the
waiting list for a donation, and approximately 30,000 people will be
diagnosed with diseases that a bone marrow transplant could cure.
My Administration is committed to increasing organ and tissue
donation. I have included nearly $25 million in my 2005 budget
proposal for organ procurement and transplantation efforts at the
Department of Health and Human Services and nearly $23 million to
support a bone marrow donor registry. In addition, we continue to
increase donations through the "Gift of Life Donation Initiative."
This campaign encourages businesses and organizations to make
information on donation available to their employees, volunteers, and
members, provides donor cards for individuals to carry with them,
promotes the development of donor registries, and encourages States to
educate teenagers on donation through their drivers' education
classes. To make organ donation more viable, I recently signed into
law the Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act. The Act
authorizes the awarding of grants for travel reimbursement to potential
donors and helps to increase public awareness and education about organ
donation programs.
After a person decides to be a donor, one of the most important
things he or she needs to do is talk with family members about this
decision. Many opportunities are missed each year because families do
not know what their loved ones wanted. During National Donate Life
Month, we honor our Nation's organ and tissue donors and their
families. Their decision to share the gift of life through America's
donor programs serves as a positive example for all our citizens.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution
and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2004 as
National Donate Life Month. I call upon our citizens to sign an organ
and tissue donor card and to be screened for bone marrow donation. I
also urge health care professionals, volunteers, educators, government
agencies, and private organizations to help raise awareness of the
important need for organ and tissue donors in communities throughout
our Nation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth
day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-eighth.
GEORGE W. BUSH
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