National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, 1996

Proclamation 6886 of April 19, 1996

National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week,
1996

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Thousands of lives have been saved by the miracle of
organ and tissue transplantation, a medical procedure
made possible only by the extraordinary generosity of
those who agree to donate and the profound compassion
of their loved ones. Recipients are often able to
resume normal lives after their transplants, working
and caring for their families, and many children are in
school today due to a donated liver or bone marrow.
Still, the need for organs far exceeds the number
donated, and many Americans wait--and some will die
waiting--for suitable organs or tissues to become
available.

Although our Nation has a potentially adequate supply
of organs and tissues, there are more than 45,000
patients on the national transplant waiting list, and
some 2,000 new names are added each month. We must
educate all Americans about transplantation and its
successes and raise public awareness of the urgent need
for increased donation. All of our citizens should know
that by completing a donor card and carrying it, and
particularly by making family members aware of the wish
to donate, they may save the health, or even the life,
of someone in need.

Americans are a caring people, and our Nation's
citizens have always reached out to one another in
times of trouble. Organ donation is a unique example of
that spirit of giving, and many who have lost loved
ones have found comfort in knowing that their loss
means the promise of life for others. This week and
throughout the year, let us recognize the advances made
in organ and tissue transplant techniques, honor those
who have already pledged their organs, and encourage
people to make the life-giving decision to donate.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim April 21 through April 27,
1996, as National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness
Week. I call upon health care professionals, educators,
the media, public and private organizations concerned
with organ donation and transplantation, and all the
people of the United States to observe this week with
appropriate activities and programs that promote organ
donation and invite new donors to get involved.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twentieth.