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.

National Donate Life Month 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 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 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 (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.

Summary: This resolution expresses support for the designation, goals, and ideals of National Donate Life Month.