National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, 1997

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Part VI

The President

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Proclamation 6992--National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, 1997

Proclamation 6993--National Wildlife Week, 1997

Proclamation 6994--National Park Week, 1997

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 6992 of April 19, 1997

National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week,
1997

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Giving life to another through an organ or tissue
transplant is one of the most selfless human acts. The
person choosing to become a donor usually receives no
tangible thanks and gains no fame or glory from the
gesture. And yet the decision to sign a donor card does
give the donor a quiet, inner fulfillment in the
knowledge that he or she may one day help save a life,
bringing new joy to another person and their family.
Often, for many Americans, this sense of fulfillment is
sufficient thanks.

Today, more than 50,000 Americans are on the national
transplant waiting list and about 2,000 more people
need transplants every month. Unfortunately, even
though this country has an adequate supply of
individuals who qualify as organ donors, many people
have still not chosen to become one. Patients in truly
desperate circumstances are depending on their fellow
Americans to choose to become organ and tissue donors.

Stunning advances in transplant research and technology
have made miracles possible, but we must do our part to
make the dreams of people awaiting transplants become
reality. Many Americans are unaware of the national
shortage of organ donors, and all of us must work
together to spread the word.

Let us take advantage of our enormous power to save a
life or to enrich the quality of life for those who
otherwise face endless pain, torment, or death. I urge
every American to respond to the urgent call for organ
and tissue donors by signing a donor card immediately.
Let us also reach out to educate our fellow Americans
about the importance of organ and tissue donations. We
must work with our religious communities and community
organizations to spread this important message. The
Federal Government has already established partnerships
with the Union of Hebrew Congregations and the Congress
of National Black Churches in an effort to educate
congregations and clergy across our Nation through
sermons, Sunday school programs, and community events.
We should do more.

We should recognize that our greatest ambassadors for
organ and tissue donation are donors, donor families
and recipients. Their personal stories have motivated
and inspired others, and we should take better
advantage of these great resources. Taken together,
these and other efforts will save the lives of
countless loved ones. And we should take the
opportunity to recognize and celebrate Americans who
donate these gifts of life.

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 20 through April 26,
1997, 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 become 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-seven, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-first.