[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING AN INNOVATIVE COMPANY--HEMCON

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                             HON. DAVID WU

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 8, 2005

  Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an innovative company in 
my Congressional district--HemCon.
  Today, HemCon is being recognized by the U.S. Army Research, 
Development and Engineering Command for developing one of the 2004 
``Top 10 Greatest Inventions.'' This is a prestigious accolade, and 
HemCon is deserving of this award.
  Hemcon has developed a revolutionary bandage that has the potential 
to change medicine as we know it. More importantly, it has the 
potential to save countless lives. According to military physicians, 90 
percent of soldiers killed in war die before they reach a medical 
facility, most often because of significant blood loss. Yet it is this 
exact situation that the military considers the main preventable cause 
of death in military action.
  The HemCon bandage is revolutionary in that it can stop severe 
hemorrhaging based on the use of a natural product called chitosan, a 
substance found in the shells of shrimp, crab, and other crustaceans. 
This chitosan material has the ability to bond with red blood cells and 
form a clot that stops bleeding. In October 2002, based on the strength 
of this product, the HemCon Bandage was ushered through the FDA and it 
is the second fastest approval of a medical device granted by the 
Agency. It was approved in only 48 hours.
  Today, the use of the HemCon Bandage is considered standard treatment 
for severe hemorrhaging, and it is being used by the military to save 
the lives of our brave men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is 
also being used by first responders in emergency medical situations to 
control blood loss.
  Jonathan Swift wrote, ``Discovery consists of seeing what everybody 
has seen and thinking what nobody else has thought.'' Dr. Kenton 
Gregory and Dr. Bill Wiesmann are a testament to this statement. 
Through their research, they have taken a natural product that had been 
overlooked for too long and used it in a revolutionary new way. Because 
of their efforts, lives have already been saved.
  I applaud, Dr. Gregory, Dr. Wiesmann, and the staff of HemCon for 
their work, and I congratulate them for this very deserving award.

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