IV
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 94
Recognizing the generous contribution made by each living person who has
donated a kidney to save a life.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 3, 1999
Mr. NETHERCUTT (for himself, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin,
Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr.
COYNE, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. ENGLISH, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DUNCAN,
Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. HOUGH-
TON, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO´, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SHOWS,
Mr. SPENCE, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. TOWNS, Mrs. THURMAN, and Mr.
WELDON of Pennsylvania) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Commerce
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the generous contribution made by each living
person who has donated a kidney to save a life.
Whereas kidneys are vital organs that clean the blood by re-
moving wastes, and failed kidneys have lost the ability to
remove these wastes;
Whereas in the United States more than 250,000 patients
with kidney failure, also known as end stage renal disease
(ESRD), have died since 1989;
Whereas during 1996, 283,932 patients were in treatment for
ESRD, and an additional 73,091 patients began treat-
ment for ESRD;
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Whereas the most common cause of ESRD has consistently
been diabetes, because the high levels of blood sugar in
persons with diabetes cause the kidneys to filter too
much blood and leave the kidneys, over time, unable to
filter waste products;
Whereas of the patients who began treatment for ESRD in
1996, 43 percent were persons with diabetes;
Whereas ESRD can be treated with dialysis, which artificially
cleans the blood but which imposes significant burdens on
quality of life, or with a successful kidney transplant op-
eration, which frees the patient from dialysis and brings
about a dramatic improvement in quality of life;
Whereas in 1996 the number of kidneys transplanted in the
United States was 12,238, with 25 percent of the kidneys
donated from biologically related living relatives, 5 per-
cent from spousal or other biologically unrelated living
persons, and the remainder from cadavers;
Whereas from 1988 to 1997, the number of patients on the
waiting list for a cadaveric kidney transplant increased
more than 150 percent, from 13,943 to more than
35,000;
Whereas the annual number of cadaveric kidneys available for
transplant has increased only slightly, from 8,327 in
1994 to 8,526 in 1996, an increase of less than 100 such
kidneys per year;
Whereas from 1988 to 1997, the annual number of kidneys
donated by living persons rose 104 percent, from 1,812
to 3,705; and
Whereas in 1995, the 3-year survival rate for kidney recipi-
ents was 82 percent if the donor was a living parent, 85
percent if the donor was a living spouse, 81 percent if the
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donor was a biologically unrelated living person other
than a spouse, and 70 percent if the kidney was
cadaveric: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) recognizes the generous contribution made
by each living person who has donated a kidney to
save a life; and
(2) acknowledges the advances in medical tech-
nology that have enabled living kidney transplan-
tation to become a viable treatment option for an in-
creasing number of patients with end stage renal
disease.
Æ