[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 19, 1994)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 18471-18472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-9550]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: April 19, 1994]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register
Vol. 59, No. 75
Tuesday, April 19, 1994
____________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
Proclamation 6672 of April 15, 1994
Nancy Moore Thurmond National Organ and Tissue
Donor Awareness Week, 1994
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Perhaps the most precious legacy that one human being
can bestow upon another is the gift of life. The
unselfish decision to donate one's organs after death
is an act of generosity that can mean the beginning of
new life for others. Advanced medical knowledge and
techniques have allowed bone marrow transplants to
bring hope and healing to children with leukemia; the
gift of a new heart, lung, or liver has enabled many
terminally ill Americans who would otherwise have died,
to live longer, fuller lives. A new kidney has provided
improved health, and the donation of a cornea has
restored the miracle of sight. Unfortunately, however,
many people still wait, and many people still die
waiting for a suitable organ to become available.
Today there are more than 34,000 patients on the
national transplant waiting list, and a new patient is
added to the list every 20 minutes. The gap between the
number of patients on the waiting list and the number
of donors continues to widen, and many more will
needlessly die. The United States has the potential to
maintain an adequate supply of donor organs. To fulfill
that potential we must increase public awareness of the
urgent need for donation. All Americans need to know
that by completing a donor card and carrying it, and by
discussing with their families their wishes to donate,
they may give the blessing of life to other Americans
in need of organs for transplantation.
One year ago, on April 14, 1993, a tragic auto accident
claimed the life of Nancy Moore Thurmond, the
beautiful, gifted, and caring young daughter of Senator
Strom Thurmond and his wife, Nancy. Their courageous
decision to donate her organs so that others might live
was in accordance with Nancy's wishes and, even in
death, has enabled the promise of her young life to
continue. The Thurmond family, along with others who
have made the same magnanimous gesture for their loved
ones, can find some measure of comfort in knowing that
they have, indeed, bequeathed the gift of life.
The Congress, by Public Law 103-30, has designated the
week beginning April 17, 1994, as ``Nancy Moore
Thurmond National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness
Week'' and has authorized and requested the President
to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the
United States to observe this week with appropriate
programs, ceremonies, and activities.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week
of April 17 through April 23, 1994, as Nancy Moore
Thurmond National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness
Week. I urge all health care professionals, educators,
the media, public and private organizations concerned
with organ donation and transplantation, and all
Americans to join me in promoting greater and more
widespread awareness and acceptance of this
humanitarian cause.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and eighteenth.
(Presidential Sig.)>
[FR Doc. 94-9550
Filed 4-15-94; 2:06 pm]
Billing code 3195-01-P