[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 12, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      NATIONAL EYE DONATION MONTH

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                           HON. SHERROD BROWN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 12, 2002

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, you and I and Americans throughout 
the country have the power to help restore sight to thousands of people 
in need. That is the potential inherent in eye donation. By signing a 
donor card and telling our loved ones about our wish to donate, each of 
us can give the precious gift of sight to people like Harold Urick from 
Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Urick lost his eyesight as a brave soldier during 
World War II and later received the gift of sight after a cornea 
transplant--allowing him to see his family again.
  March is National Eye Donor Month. It is an opportunity to celebrate 
the gift of sight, to honor past donors and their families, and to 
raise public awareness regarding the importance of eye donation.
  Last year, through the miracle of corneal transplantation, 47,000 
individuals had their sight restored. This year, thousands of Americans 
will require sight-restoring cornea transplants. We in Congress can 
help ensure a sufficient supply of precious corneas by educating the 
public about the importance of eye donation and encouraging more 
Americans to become donors.
  Our nation's eye banks, along with the Eye Bank Association of 
America, work tirelessly to restore sight through the advancement and 
promotion of eye banking. Through meticulous screening procedures, 
accredited eye banks ensure that Americans in need of a cornea 
transplant receive safe tissue. Eye banks have developed an informal 
national distribution system that ensures that tissue can be available 
whenever a cornea is needed for surgery, but each year the demand for 
tissue increases.
  As National Eye Donation Month approaches, I encourage my colleagues 
to work with their local eye banks and the Eye Bank Association of 
America to promote eye donation and provide more people like Mr. Urick 
with the miracle cornea transplantation provides. There is no gift more 
meaningful, more profoundly important, than the gift of sight.

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