[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15412]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNIZING NATIONAL MINORITY DONOR AWARENESS DAY

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, today is National Minority Donor Awareness 
Day. Observed every year on August 1, National Minority Donor Awareness 
Day is an intensive awareness campaign reaching out to minorities of 
all ethnic groups.
  The awareness campaign seeks to address organ and tissue donation 
fears and obstacles of specific concerns to minorities.
  The campaign also promotes healthy living and disease prevention, and 
seeks to increase the number of people who sign donor cards and 
actually become donors.
  Also, this day increases awareness of behaviors that may lead to the 
need for transplantation, such as smoking, alcohol and substance abuse, 
and poor nutrition.
  Several communities will be holding activities in observance of 
National Minority Donor Day, and I support these efforts 
wholeheartedly.
  Over 77,500 patients are currently waiting for an organ transplant. 
The more donors we can recruit, the more lives we can save.

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