[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 31, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8484-S8486]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 63--RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANT 
    CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE YOUTH FOR LIFE: REMEMBERING WALTER PAYTON 
 INITIATIVE AND ENCOURAGING PARTICIPATION IN THIS NATIONWIDE EFFORT TO 
          EDUCATE YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION

  Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Frist, Mr. Allen, and Mr. Kennedy) 
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

[[Page S8485]]

                            S. Con. Res. 63

       Whereas more than 76,000 men, women, and children currently 
     await life-saving transplants;
       Whereas every 14 minutes another name is added to the 
     national transplant waiting list;
       Whereas people of all ages and medical histories are 
     potential organ, tissue, and blood donors;
       Whereas more than 2,300 of those awaiting transplants are 
     under the age of 18;
       Whereas approximately 14,000 children and young adults 
     under the age of 18 have donated organs or tissue since 1988;
       Whereas science shows that acceptance rates increase when 
     donors are matched to recipients by age;
       Whereas organ donation is often a family decision, and 
     sharing a decision to become a donor with family members can 
     help to ensure a donation when an occasion arises;
       Whereas nationwide there are up to 15,000 potential donors 
     annually, but consent from family members to donation is 
     received for less than 6,000;
       Whereas educating young people about organ and tissue 
     donation promotes family discussions over the desire of 
     family members to become organ donors;
       Whereas Youth For Life: Remembering Walter Payton is 
     committed to educating young adults about organ donation and 
     encouraging students to discuss this decision with their 
     family and register to be organ donors;
       Whereas the Youth For Life: Remembering Walter Payton 
     program is dedicated to football legend Walter Payton, who 
     broke the NFL career rushing record on October 7, 1984; and
       Whereas Youth For Life: Remembering Walter Payton Day will 
     be held on October 9, 2001: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) supports the purposes and objectives of Youth For Life: 
     Remembering Walter Payton; and
       (2) encourages all young people to learn about the 
     importance of organ, tissue, bone marrow, and blood donations 
     and to discuss these donations with their families and 
     friends.

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I stand before my colleagues today to 
acknowledge the contributions made by a dedicated group of young people 
from my home State of Illinois. John McCaskey, Erin Kinsella and Mark 
Pendleton have initiated a unique program to raise awareness among 
young adults about organ donation.
  Youth for Life: Remembering Walter Payton works in partnership with 
the National Football League, NFL, to urge students to become organ 
donors. Informational school forums will acquaint students with the 
issue and those who decide to sign an organ donor card will receive an 
autograph from an NFL player. Program organizers call it ``an autograph 
for an autograph,'' and to date, they have enlisted the help of 
players, coaches and alumni from every NFL team.
  The program honors Walter Payton, the Illinois football star who 
brought to the Nation's attention the difficulties patients face while 
on the waiting list for a donated organ. The NFL's all-time rushing 
leader, Payton died two years ago while waiting for a liver transplant 
at age 46.
  Walter Payton broke Jim Brown's all-time rushing record on October 7, 
1984, and the Youth for Life: Remembering Walter Payton program 
organizers have decided to launch their efforts on October 9, 2001 to 
commemorate this accomplishment. While his record-breaking performance 
on the football field as a Chicago Bear set him apart from his 
competitors, his struggle to find a suitable organ donor is all too 
common.
  More than 2,300 individuals suffering from a condition serious enough 
to place them on the waiting list for an organ or tissue transplant are 
under the age of 18. Last year, 641 of those patients were between the 
ages of 11 and 17. The Youth for Life: Remembering Walter Payton 
program highlights the fact that Americans of all ages need organ and 
tissue transplants. Many factors influence whether or not a transplant 
will be successful, and matching donor and recipient age is one way to 
improve surgery outcomes. Anyone can become an organ and tissue donor, 
and I would also like to emphasize how important it is that young 
people both learn about organ and tissue donation and share that 
knowledge with their families.
  I am submitting a resolution that will support the purposes and 
objectives of the Youth for Life: Remembering Walter Payton program and 
encourage more young people to learn about organ and tissue donation. I 
am pleased that Senators Allen, Kennedy and Frist have joined me in 
cosponsoring this resolution. In the House of Representatives, 
Representative Brown of Ohio and Representative Largent of Oklahoma 
have also chosen to lend their support to this program.
  My colleagues know how far we have come in this field of medicine, 
especially Senator Frist, himself a transplant surgeon. The first 
successful transplant was the result of a kidney donation from one 
identical twin to another. It occurred 47 years ago, without the use of 
any anti-rejection medication. The first liver and heart transplants 
followed, and progress has continued at breakneck speed. Today, 
transplant procedures are more common, successful and safe. Patients 
suffering from kidney failure, diabetes, heart disease and hepatitis C 
are just some of the individuals whose lives have been saved or vastly 
improved by advances in heart, liver, lung and tissue transplant 
science.

  In addition to expanding the list of disorders treatable or curable 
with an organ or tissue transplant, doctors and scientists have 
improved the success and safety of transplant surgery. Organ and tissue 
recipients survive and thrive today because investments in biomedical 
research have broadened our understanding of the immunological factors 
that can enhance donor and recipient compatibility. Work in the 
laboratory has led to the discovery of various immunosuppressive drugs 
that decrease the likelihood of organ and tissue rejection. Increased 
rates of success have inspired more and more insurers to include 
transplant procedures and medication as part of the coverage they 
offer. Yet we continue to neglect an important part of the equation for 
saving and improving the lives of those patients waiting list for an 
organ or tissue transplant: Identifying and referring potential donors.
  Progress in the field of transplant science is truly remarkable. This 
progress is why I vote time and time again to invest in medical 
research. This progress is also why I stand before my colleagues once 
again to emphasize the critical role played by groups like Youth for 
Life: Remembering Walter Payton.
  The number of registered organ and tissue donors remains woefully 
inadequate. Every 14 minutes another individual joins the waiting list 
for an organ or tissue donation. Identifying more donors and 
encouraging them to discuss consent with their next-of-kin is a part of 
the battle against disease that we are not winning. We cannot afford to 
neglect the important work of groups that raise awareness about organ 
and tissue donation. Increasing knowledge about and inspiring interest 
in this issue is the only way we can ensure that innovations in the 
laboratory and increased proficiency among medical providers make a 
difference in the lives of those patients waiting for a transplant. The 
need for more donors is acute, and without groups like Youth for Life: 
Remembering Walter Payton, the number of patients who die while waiting 
for a transplant will only increase.
  I introduced my ``Give Thanks, Give Life'' resolution in 1999, which 
emphasized the importance of discussing organ and tissue donation with 
family members to ensure that the desire to donate would be honored. At 
that time, there were 66,000 patients waiting for transplants. 76,000 
individuals are waiting today. Of the 16,000 potential donors each 
year, less than half will actually result in a donation of an organ or 
tissue, because too many potential donors fail to discuss their desire 
to donate with family members.
  For those 76,000 Americans who are on the waiting list for an organ 
or tissue donation, identifying and referring more donors is a matter 
of life or death. Once the decision to become a donor is made, family 
members must be made aware of the donor's intention. Youth for Life: 
Remembering Walter Payton is a commendable program because it tackles 
both of these barriers to linking organ and tissue donors with patients 
in need. Not only does the program encourage more individuals to become 
donors, it also recognizes that young people can take a leading role in 
initiating family discussion about intentions to be an organ and tissue 
donor.
  This resolution affirms the goals and ideas of the Youth for Life: 
Remembering Walter Payton program, and

[[Page S8486]]

urges young people to learn more about the value of organ and tissue 
donation and share that information with family members. I commend the 
program's founders for all the good work they have done thus far, and 
ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing their efforts.

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