FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Thursday, October 2, 2008
CONTACT: Brian Cook, Rep. Stark: (202) 225-3202
Sage Eastman, Rep. Camp: (202) 225-3561

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Gift of Life Medal Act. The bill passed the House by unanimous consent on Monday, September 29. The bill, introduced by Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), and a bipartisan group of 44 legislators, creates a commemorative medal for organ donors and their families, recognizing the brave act of organ donation.

Rep. Stark: “I am grateful that Congress was able to get this bill passed so expeditiously, to honor not just the memory of our good friend and colleague Stephanie, but also the thousands of Americans who become organ donors every year.”

Rep. Camp: “Stephanie dedicated her life and her untimely death to helping others. It is my sincere hope that this medal and Stephanie’s final act will inspire thousands more to donate their organs and give the gift of life.”

Rep. Tubbs Jones, who died of a brain aneurysm last month, requested that her organs and tissues be donated in the event of her death. She is one of 100 expected donors in Northeast Ohio this year. While no details were released, officials estimate that as many as 58 people may have benefited from her gift.

Representative Tubbs Jones was also a strong advocate for remedying health disparities, which are dramatic in the area of organ transplantation. Minorities donate organs in proportion to their population, but the rate of organ donations fails to keep pace with the need for transplants in the population. African Americans represent 13 percent of the population and 12 percent of organ donors, but comprise roughly 23 percent of individuals on the national waiting list for kidney transplants.

In the United States, nearly 100,000 people are currently waiting for organ transplants; more than 2,000 of these are children under age 18. The national waiting list has grown substantially every year. Since the waiting list began, at least 75,000 donation-eligible Americans have died waiting for an organ to become available; in 2005 alone, more than 6,000 people died for lack of a suitable organ.

This legislation directs the Treasury department to design and produce a commemorative medal that the Department of Health and Human Services will award to organ donors or to a surviving family member. Enactment of this legislation would have no cost to the Federal Government. The medals would be funded by charitable donations.