[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 20895-20896]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       ORGAN DONATION IN AMERICA

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, before I address the issue that I would 
like to speak to this evening, I would first like to acknowledge a 
press conference which was held today, and one which I believe could 
have some significance across the United States. It was a press 
conference here on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol. In attendance were 
Senators Bill Frist of Tennessee and Senator DeWine of Ohio--both 
Republican Senators--as well as my Democratic colleague, Senator Carl 
Levin and I.
  What would bring together two Democrats and two Republicans in rare 
agreement here in the close of a session? It is an issue which, 
frankly, transcends party and transcends region. It is the issue of 
organ donation in America.
  Mr. President, 72,000 of our friends and neighbors are sitting by a 
telephone across America at this very moment waiting for the phone to 
ring to be told that there is an organ available to be donated to them 
which could save their lives--72,000. In my home State of Illinois, 
there are 4,500 such people. Sadly, 300 of them will die before they 
receive the phone call that an organ is available.
  So last year I joined with Senators Frist, DeWine, Levin, and 
Kennedy, and half a dozen other Senators from both sides of the aisle, 
to try to address this on a national basis. We came up with the concept 
that this Thanksgiving in the year 2000 will be designated ``Give 
Thanks, Give Life Week,'' where we will try to alert families across 
America, as they come together for Thanksgiving, that they should take 
a few moments of time in that festivity and just perhaps talk to one 
another privately about their feelings about organ donation.
  We were lucky to have the endorsement of this effort by the National 
Football League. At 17 different NFL games on Thanksgiving Week, they 
will have ``Give Thanks, Give Life'' activities.
  Today, we had at this gathering on the Capitol lawn, Connie Payton, 
who is the widow of the great Chicago Bear running back Walter Payton. 
Of course, he died in November of last year from liver disease. He 
might have been saved by a liver transplant. She has really dedicated 
her life since trying to work for children and for organ donation in 
his memory.

[[Page 20896]]

  Connie is a wonderful lady who has been on television in public 
service spots across Illinois with our Secretary of State, Jesse White, 
for the past 6 or 7 months. She really is well respected for her 
efforts.
  Joining her were representatives of the National Football League from 
the Washington Redskins and from the Tennessee Titans. It is going to 
be a great opportunity across America to use what is a great family 
get-together to remember the very basic: If you want to give thanks, 
you can give life with an organ donation.
  So I hope a lot of my colleagues in the other NFL cities will be part 
of this and will participate. In Chicago, we are going to set up tables 
in Soldier Field for those who want organ donation cards and to 
encourage people to sign their driver's licenses. At half time we are 
going to bring out a bunch of kids and older folks who successfully 
received organ transplants.
  At this meeting, we had Jon Hochstein, a 5-year-old boy from 
Virginia. He had a heart transplant a year and a half ago, and he looks 
like he will play in the NFL some day.
  It is a great miracle, but it can't happen without organ donors. 
Those of us who made that commitment, and have made it known to our 
families, stand at least the possibility to bring a lot of joy to 
families.
  Mr. REID. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. DURBIN. I am happy to.
  Mr. REID. The Senator from Illinois and I came to the House of 
Representatives together 18 years ago. I was placed on the Science and 
Technology Committee, and the first subcommittee I was on was chaired 
by Representative Albert Gore. One of the first hearings that he put 
together as chairman of that subcommittee dealt with organ transplants. 
That was 18 years ago. Maybe the Senator can remember the very noted 
hearing that he held, beginning a discussion on organ transplants.
  Mr. DURBIN. I was at the same hearing.
  Mr. REID. I say to my friend from Illinois, do you remember little 
Jamie Fisk whom he brought in?
  Mr. DURBIN. I do.
  Mr. REID. He was yellow.
  Mr. DURBIN. Jaundiced.
  Mr. REID. He needed a liver transplant. As a result of that hearing, 
Jamie Fisk got a liver transplant. It began a discussion in our country 
that the Senator from Illinois has carried on all these years about why 
we should be aware of the need for organ transplants.
  I was not aware the Senator was coming to the floor today to speak 
about this subject. But my mind returns to that very dramatic hearing 
that went on for many hours. It was the first of its kind.
  I would say, in passing, and ask the Senator if he agrees with me, 
that this is like Al Gore to begin something like this. He is a 
visionary. And this goes back long before anyone ever anticipated or 
thought that Al Gore would be a Member of the Senate, certainly not 
Vice President, and not running for the Presidency.
  Mr. DURBIN. I agree with you.
  But I remember it well because I was lucky enough to serve on that 
same subcommittee. I remember that testimony as if it were yesterday. 
It was amazing that this issue was brought forward. We have done so 
much.
  Our Republican colleague, who is a medical doctor, Senator Bill 
Frist, was a former heart and lung transplant surgeon. He came down 
here. He talked about how he used to carry around in his pocket the 
names of 10 or 12 people who needed an organ donation. He would go 
through the hospital to see if there were any families with a loved one 
who was about to pass away who would even consider that. He said since 
he stopped that practice a few years ago, the number of organ 
transplants has been increasing each and every year. But it can't 
continue unless there are more donors.
  I hope this ``Give Thanks, Give Life Week'' around Thanksgiving will 
become an annual event. I want to really salute the National Football 
League and Paul Tagliabue, the Commissioner, for all the support they 
have given us. They have at least given it the kind of sendoff we hoped 
to achieve. Connie Payton, who was here the other day; Mark Moseley, 
who is a former most valuable player in the NFL; Bill Brundage, who was 
also a lineman for the Washington Redskins--they all came out here to 
endorse the concept.
  Many times, people in sports can come forward and spur a lot of folks 
to take seriously what politicians, such as ourselves, may not be able 
to impress upon them. So this meeting today was a good one.

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