[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 65 (Thursday, April 4, 2019)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 13491-13492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06808]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 65 / Thursday, April 4, 2019 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 13491]]


                Proclamation 9855 of March 29, 2019

                
National Donate Life Month, 2019

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                During National Donate Life Month, we recognize the 
                courageous men and women who make the selfless decision 
                to give the gift of life to their fellow Americans. 
                Through the generosity of organ and tissue donors, 
                thousands of people have the chance to live longer and 
                fuller lives.

                2018 marked the sixth consecutive record-setting year 
                for transplants in the United States. More than 36,500 
                organs were transplanted, an increase of 5 percent over 
                the previous year. These generous donations help 
                fulfill a need for lifesaving organs that remains 
                staggeringly high. Currently, there are nearly 114,000 
                people on the national transplant waiting list, and, 
                tragically, 20 people die each day waiting for a needed 
                organ. We can close the gap between the availability of 
                organs and people in need of organs: Just 1 donor can 
                save up to 8 lives through organ donation and enhance 
                up to 50 lives through tissue donation.

                In addition to those in need of organ donations, 
                approximately 17,500 people in America are diagnosed 
                each year with illnesses for which a bone marrow 
                transplant is their best treatment option. In about 70 
                percent of these cases, a person's family member will 
                not be an appropriate match, requiring a volunteer 
                donor. Unfortunately, many patients cannot find a 
                suitable match in time for the potentially lifesaving 
                medical procedure among the 30 million adults who have 
                offered to be donors. In 2018, for example, there were 
                only 5,000 blood stem cell transplants performed in the 
                United States--significantly fewer than the number of 
                people who could benefit from such a procedure.

                This month, we express our gratitude to the 
                compassionate Americans who join organ and tissue 
                registries and to the healthcare and science 
                professionals who make the gift of life possible 
                through these transplants. We also remember all those 
                who have died waiting for matches. To honor their lives 
                and provide hope for the thousands of Americans on 
                waiting lists across the country, I encourage all those 
                who are capable to consider becoming organ or tissue 
                donors.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim April 2019 as 
                National Donate Life Month. I call upon health 
                professionals, volunteers, educators, government 
                agencies, faith-based and community groups, and private 
                organizations to help raise awareness of the urgent 
                need for organ and tissue donors throughout our Nation.

[[Page 13492]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand nineteen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                third.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2019-06808
Filed 4-3-19; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F9-P