National Donate Life Month, 2004

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part IV

The President

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Proclamation 7769--National Donate Life Month, 2004

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7769 of April 8, 2004

National Donate Life Month, 2004

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first
successful organ transplant in the United States. Since
that time, organ and tissue transplantation have
significantly increased, and last year, more than
25,000 Americans received an organ transplant. National
Donate Life Month provides the opportunity to raise
awareness about organ and tissue donation and the
importance of sharing your decision to donate with your
family.

While medical advances are enabling Americans to
receive lifesaving transplants, there are not enough
donors to help everyone in need. Last year, close to
6,000 Americans died while waiting for organ
transplants. Currently, more than 84,000 of our
citizens are on the waiting list for a donation, and
approximately 30,000 people will be diagnosed with
diseases that a bone marrow transplant could cure.

My Administration is committed to increasing organ and
tissue donation. I have included nearly $25 million in
my 2005 budget proposal for organ procurement and
transplantation efforts at the Department of Health and
Human Services and nearly $23 million to support a bone
marrow donor registry. In addition, we continue to
increase donations through the ``Gift of Life Donation
Initiative.'' This campaign encourages businesses and
organizations to make information on donation available
to their employees, volunteers, and members, provides
donor cards for individuals to carry with them,
promotes the development of donor registries, and
encourages States to educate teenagers on donation
through their drivers' education classes. To make organ
donation more viable, I recently signed into law the
Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act. The Act
authorizes the awarding of grants for travel
reimbursement to potential donors and helps to increase
public awareness and education about organ donation
programs.

After a person decides to be a donor, one of the most
important things he or she needs to do is talk with
family members about this decision. Many opportunities
are missed each year because families do not know what
their loved ones wanted. During National Donate Life
Month, we honor our Nation's organ and tissue donors
and their families. Their decision to share the gift of
life through America's donor programs serves as a
positive example for all our citizens.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, 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 2004 as National
Donate Life Month. I call upon our citizens to sign an
organ and tissue donor card and to be screened for bone
marrow donation. I also urge health care professionals,
volunteers, educators, government agencies, and private
organizations to help raise awareness of the important
need for organ and tissue donors in communities
throughout our Nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand four, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and twenty-eighth.

(Presidential Sig.)B