[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17882]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    ORGAN DONATION, THE GIFT OF LIFE

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, the stinging attacks of September 11 
remind us of the fragility of life. Life is fleeting, and no one knows 
it better than the nearly 60,000 patients waiting to receive transplant 
organs. Today alone, nine patients will die because a match was not 
found.
  The Transplant Foundation at the University of Miami is dedicated to 
transplant research because there is no greater gift than the gift of 
life. On October 13, the Foundation will host its sixth annual That's 
Life ball to raise funds for patient services and public education. I 
congratulate president Donnie Coker and president-elect Ivan Gomez of 
the Transplant Foundation of Miami. Also Ellie Compton, Jeffrey Barash, 
John Venezia, and surgeons Joshua Miller, Andreas Tzakis, and Si Pham.
  I commend the That's Life committee and members of all boards who 
devotedly educate our community on organ procurement.
  Becoming an organ donor is as easy as checking a box on your driver's 
license, and it could literally mean a life to a transplant patient. I 
have signed up as an organ donor, and I encourage all of my colleagues 
to leave a lasting legacy by giving the gift of life.

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