[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 2164-2165]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


       IN RECOGNITION OF HOLLY SCHLESSER OF STREAMWOOD, ILLINOIS

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                          HON. TAMMY DUCKWORTH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 11, 2015

  Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to recognize one 
of my constituents, Holly Schlesser, and her selfless act for a child 
in need. This past fall Holly donated a piece of her liver to a 
friend's 8 month old baby, Madison Casey. Holly and Madison's mom, 
Tanya, are the wives of firefighters in Streamwood, Illinois. Service 
and sacrifice is a part of their daily lives. Madison was born with a 
rare genetic disorder that led to liver failure. Thanks to Holly 
Schlesser's selfless gift she now has real hope of growing up healthy 
and strong alongside her twin brother. The

[[Page 2165]]

Schlesser and Casey families show us the importance of living through 
our actions.
  Their story is also an important reminder about the incredible 
difference that organ and tissue donors can make. There is a large and 
heartbreaking gap between the supply and demand for lifesaving organs 
and tissue. Each day an average of 18 people in the United States in 
need of transplants die waiting. And without angels like Holly 
Schlesser, every 10 minutes a new person joins the national transplant 
waitlist.
  In my home state of Illinois, Gift of Hope, which is part of the 
national organ and tissue donation system, is working hard to address 
this challenge by educating the public about the need for donors. 
They're making progress and experienced their second record-setting 
year in a row in 2014, helping make 1,024 lifesaving donations happen 
through the generosity of 336 organ donors and 1,912 tissue donors. I 
applaud the more than 5 million Illinoisans who have decided to become 
organ and tissue donors and encourage other Americans to follow the 
example set by my neighbors.




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