MEDIA CONTACT:

STEVEN ENGELHARDT (314) 504-4029

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  WEDNESDAY, 11.30.11

Clay Introduces the Everson Walls and Ron Springs Gift for Life Act of 2011

Bill Would Establish New Organ and Tissue Donation RegistryResource Center at HHS

- WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri has introduced HR 3514, the Everson Walls and Ron Springs Gift for Life Act of 2011.  The legislation would establish a National Organ & Tissue Donation registryresource center.  “The miracle of organ and tissue donation saves lives,” said Mr. Clay.  “The goal of my bill is to elevate the issue of organ and tissue donation to become a national priority so that we can begin to close the gap between hope and the clock of life that still runs out for far too many Americans who are waiting to receive a donated organ.”

Congressman Clay’s legislation would establish a National Organ and Tissue Donor Registry Resource Center at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to assist states with the development and expansion of registries.  The bill would also authorize grants to the states for the registries and limit the liability of hospitals and physicians  who expressly follow the wishes of organ donors.

“Organ donation is one of modern medicine’s most effective, lifesaving therapies,” said Mr. Clay.“Over the last 25 years, more than 500,000 successful transplants have been performed. And yet every day in this country, eighteen Americans die while waiting for a donated organ.  Nationally, 112,552 patients are on the transplant waiting list. We have enough donors, but there is a critical gap in resources, information and liability protection for healthcare facilities and providers who perform these live-saving procedures. In minority communities, that need is even more acute because racial and ethnic minorities suffer from much higher rates of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, respiratory failure, kidney failure and cancer.”

Statistics Confirm the National Urgency to Increase Organ & Tissue Donation for Minority Patients 

•            More than 58,000 minority patients are registered on the U.S. transplant waiting list.

•            Minorities make up 34 % of the U.S. population, but they comprise 54% of patients on the transplant waiting list.

•            Minorities represent 32 % of living and deceased organ donors.

•            In 2009, organ transplants were performed on 11,140 minority patients.

•            In 2009, there were 2,675 minority deceased donors and 2,288 minority living donors.

•            Anyone can be a potential donor, regardless of age or medical history.

•            A single donor can save or improve the lives of more than 50 people.

•            Every major religion in the United States supports organ, eye and tissue donation as one of the highest expressions of compassion and generosity.

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