National Donate Life Month, 2017

Proclamation 9583 of March 31, 2017

National Donate Life Month, 2017

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Every day, Americans sustain the miracle of life by
generously donating their organs and tissue to others
in need. During National Donate Life Month, we honor
the living and deceased donors who gave so others could
live, and celebrate the remarkable achievements of our
healthcare and science professionals who perform
transplants and create techniques to make the gift of
life possible.

We also continue our efforts to raise awareness of the
life-saving potential Americans have as donors. The
Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network reports
that 33,606 transplants were performed during 2016,
which is an 8.5 percent increase from 2015.

Still, additional donors are urgently needed. More than
118,000 people are currently waiting for organ
transplants, and thousands of our family members and
friends die each year waiting for matches. This month
we remind Americans that people of all ages and from
all walks of life can help save lives. Remarkably, one
organ donor can save up to eight lives. One tissue
donor can help 75 people heal. I encourage Americans
everywhere to learn about how they can participate in
the gift of life by becoming organ and tissue donors,
and the many other ways they can give to those in need.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim April 2017 as
National Donate Life Month. I call upon healthcare
professionals, volunteers, educators, government
agencies, faith-based and community groups, and private
organizations to help raise awareness of the urgent
need for organ and tissue donors throughout our Nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
first.