[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5758]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING KIDNEY DONORS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Speaker, I recently introduced a resolution to 
recognize the generous contribution made by each living kidney donor to 
save a life and to acknowledge the advances in medical technology that 
have enabled living kidney transplantation to become a viable treatment 
option for an increasing number of individuals needing kidney 
transplant.
  Since 1989, over 250,000 Americans have lost their lives to kidney 
failure. In 1996, some 250,000 patients were treated for end stage 
renal disease. An additional 73,000 began treatment for the first time. 
Of those new patients, nearly half were persons with diabetes. Also in 
1996, over 12,000 kidneys were transplanted in the United States. 
Thirty percent of these organs came from living donors.
  Over the last 10 years, the number of patients on the waiting list 
for a kidney transplant has almost tripled, from 14,000 to over 40,000. 
In 1988, the number of kidney donations made it possible to provide 
transplants to almost half the number of patients waiting for a kidney. 
Because the numbers on the waiting list have grown more quickly than 
the supply of organs, today only about a quarter will benefit from a 
transplant.
  While the annual number of cadaveric kidneys available for transplant 
has increased only about 40 percent over the last 10 years, the number 
of living donors has increased over 100 percent. From the period 1985 
to 1994, the 10-year survival rate for dialysis patients was just 10 
percent. Survival rates for patients with cadaveric kidney transplants 
jumped to 55 percent. And for those who received a kidney from a living 
family member, fully 75 percent would have the chance to live 10 
additional years.
  Thirty-three of my colleagues have expressed their support for this 
resolution by signing on as cosponsors. I invite other interested 
Members of the House to recognize living kidney donors by signing on to 
this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, just a week or so ago, I received a phone call from 
former Senator Jake Garn of Utah who served in the other body with 
great honor and distinction for many years. He called in support of 
this resolution because he as a father donated a kidney to one of his 
daughters, and she has lived very well over the last few years despite 
having some complications from diabetes and other diseases. She has 
recently undergone additional kidney repair and is hanging in there 
today as we speak.
  The point is that Senator Garn and others are due great recognition 
for their commitment to their families, for their commitment to good 
health and for their self-sacrifice to make sure that others can live 
and have kidney transplants. Senator Garn is a wonderful example of 
many other people who donate kidneys in this United States.
  I also urge the Committee on Commerce as it considers this resolution 
to take up this resolution at the earliest possible time to give hope 
to people who are in need of kidney transplantation.
  This budget resolution which we passed today, I also want to add, 
makes due consideration for increases in biomedical research for the 
National Institutes of Health. As a cochairman of the Diabetes Caucus 
along with former Representative Elizabeth Furse from Oregon, now the 
gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette), we have over 240 members of 
this House who have signed on to the Diabetes Caucus and who are 
supportive of diabetes research through NIH but also supportive of 
cancer research, Alzheimer's research, multiple sclerosis research, 
polycystic kidney disease research and many other diseases that are 
going to be cured in our lifetimes, in the very near future, by 
increased funding for the National Institutes of Health and the 
perpetuation of basic research to help cure disease and make life 
better for all of us as we age and go through health problems of our 
own or health problems that our families may have.
  I commend this House for passing this budget resolution, giving the 
Committee on Appropriations adequate flexibility to address National 
Institutes of Health. I hope that people will get involved in this 
resolution that I have introduced to recognize kidney donors.

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