[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 186 (Tuesday, December 6, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2186-E2187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING MARIE CLARKE ARTURI AND HER DAUGHTER, DANIELLA MARIA ARTURI

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CAROLYN McCARTHY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 6, 2011

  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate 
Mrs. Marie Clarke Arturi of Laurel, Suffolk County, New York, the 
recipient of the 2011 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Outstanding 
Service Award in recognition of her efforts over more than a decade to 
raise public awareness and increase scientific research for the rare 
bone marrow failure disorder, Diamond Blackfan Anemia (DBA).
  Mrs. Arturi founded the Daniella Maria Arturi Foundation with her 
husband, Manny, in honor of their daughter Daniella's short but 
beautiful life, whose death from treatment complications of DBA on this 
day sixteen years ago, December 6, 1995. This marked the beginning of 
the Arturis' tireless efforts to improve the clinical care environment 
for those living with this disorder and to inspire a remarkable and 
growing field of researchers now dedicated to this field of science.
  Mrs. Arturi's efforts have helped shine a light on the value of 
understanding rare diseases. By demonstrating DBA's complex link to red 
cell aplasia, birth defects, cancer predisposition, and the first human 
disease identified as a ribosomal protein defect disorder, her work has 
made DBA an important area of focus within the National Institutes of 
Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and clinical 
and research communities worldwide. These efforts are now leading to

[[Page E2187]]

improvements in care and research for patients with blood disorders 
like DBA, while also leading to advanced research initiatives that are 
yielding clues to other, more widespread disease populations.
  The 2011 Outstanding Service Award will be presented to Mrs. Arturi 
during the 53rd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in San 
Diego, California, on December 11, 2011.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in congratulating 
Mrs. Marie Clarke Arturi and her family for their outstanding public 
service to rare disease communities and those living with Diamond 
Blackfan Anemia in honor of Daniella Maria Arturi.

                          ____________________