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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1181 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1181

 Expressing support for designation of April as ``National Donate Life 
 Month'' and expressing gratitude to all Americans who have registered 
                     to be organ and tissue donors.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 30, 2024

   Mr. Costa (for himself, Mr. Bucshon, Mr. Correa, and Mr. Murphy) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                         on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Expressing support for designation of April as ``National Donate Life 
 Month'' and expressing gratitude to all Americans who have registered 
                     to be organ and tissue donors.

Whereas, as of March 2024, 103,223 individuals were on the official waiting list 
        managed for organ donation by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation 
        Network established under section 372 of the Public Health Service Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 274), commonly referred to as the ``national transplant 
        waiting list'';
Whereas, in 2023, over 46,000 transplant procedures were performed with organs 
        from over 16,000 deceased donors and over 9,400 living donors, yet on 
        average, 17 people die each day while waiting for an organ donation;
Whereas over 169,000,000 people in the United States are registered to be organ 
        and tissue donors, yet the demand for donated organs outweighs the 
        supply of organs made available each day;
Whereas, on September 9, 2022, the United States reached the historic milestone 
        of over 1,000,000 transplants performed, more than any other country in 
        the world;
Whereas, in 2023, a record was set for the number of deceased donor organ 
        transplants performed in a single year, for the thirteenth consecutive 
        year, and annual records were also set for the number of kidney, liver, 
        heart, and lung transplants;
Whereas transplantation is the therapy of choice, and frequently the only 
        option, to ease patient suffering, restore patient health, and allow 
        patients to lead more productive lives;
Whereas modern medicine has progressed to allow exponentially more successful 
        transplant surgeries to be performed;
Whereas scientific breakthroughs in the field of living donations have allowed a 
        living donor to donate a kidney or a portion of the liver to save the 
        life of another individual;
Whereas in addition to addressing public health concerns, there are also 
        enormous financial savings to the United States health care system that 
        can be realized by increasing organ donation and transplantation 
        nationally; and
Whereas April is traditionally recognized as ``National Donate Life Month'': 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the designation, goals, and ideals of 
        ``National Donate Life Month'';
            (2) expresses its support and gratitude to all Americans 
        who have registered to be organ and tissue donors;
            (3) acknowledges the grief of families who face the loss of 
        loved ones and commends the families who, in their grief, 
        choose to donate the organs and tissues of deceased family 
        members;
            (4) recognizes the generous contribution made by each 
        living individual who has donated an organ or tissue to save 
        and enhance the life of another individual;
            (5) encourages those Americans who are not already donors 
        to consider their organ, blood and tissue donation options;
            (6) commends the medical professionals and organ donation 
        and transplantation experts who have worked to improve the 
        donation process to increase the number of deceased and living 
        donors and thus save more lives;
            (7) encourages States, localities, and territories of the 
        United States to support the goals and ideals of National 
        Donate Life Month by issuing a proclamation to designate 
        ``National Donate Life Month''; and
            (8) supports the many public events that will be conducted 
        in April in every State to thank donors and donor families, to 
        publicize the organ shortage, and to educate individuals on the 
        benefits of becoming an organ and tissue donor.
                                 <all>
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