[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 22889-22890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07190]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 89 , No. 65 / Wednesday, April 3, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 22889]]


                Proclamation 10719 of March 29, 2024

                
National Donate Life Month, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                I often say that we are a good Nation because we are a 
                good people, and during National Donate Life Month, we 
                are reminded of why that is true as we celebrate all 
                the selfless organ donors across our country, who have 
                saved countless lives. We honor the families and 
                friends of donors who have supported their loved ones, 
                and we recognize the professionals devoted to the 
                transplant community. We call upon more Americans to 
                register as organ, eye, tissue, or bone marrow donors 
                and share the gift of life with those in need.

                Across the country, organ transplants are being 
                performed at a record pace because of the incredible 
                generosity and courage of organ donors. America's 
                doctors have performed over one million organ 
                transplants to date. Each year, thousands of profoundly 
                compassionate Americans choose to donate their organs, 
                saving the lives of loved ones and people they have 
                never even met.

                Despite this progress, there is still so much more to 
                do until every person who needs an organ receives one. 
                More than 100,000 people, including nearly 2,000 
                children, are currently on the waiting list for an 
                organ transplant--the majority of whom are people of 
                color. With a shortage of organ donors and a high 
                demand for them, 17 Americans die each day while 
                waiting for a transplant.

                We can each change that. After someone passes away, 
                their organ donation can save up to 8 people and can 
                improve 75 more lives through eye and tissue donation. 
                What an extraordinary legacy to leave: giving people in 
                need a second chance at life and giving families 
                futures with their loved ones.

                My Administration is working to improve the organ 
                donation process and ensure living donors and 
                recipients have access to quality, affordable health 
                care. For the first time in nearly 40 years, we are 
                breaking up the monopoly that has controlled the organ 
                transplant system. A bipartisan law I signed, the 
                Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation 
                Network Act, will transform the organ transplant 
                network by increasing competition in the contracts 
                process. This law allows us to implement an independent 
                board of directors that can strengthen accountability 
                and oversight. In addition, we established the Organ 
                Procurement and Transplantation Network Modernization 
                Initiative, which will bring more transparency to the 
                system and spearhead needed reforms. These actions are 
                critical first steps toward cutting down the wait list 
                for organs.

                We have also taken action to extend Medicare coverage 
                of vital drugs for kidney transplant patients and are 
                working to ensure high-quality care for transplants. 
                This year, through my Inflation Reduction Act, out-of-
                pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare will be 
                capped at $3,500 a year--even for medications that cost 
                some organ recipients many times that.

                In addition, I worked with the Congress to secure $2.5 
                billion in bipartisan funding for the Advanced Research 
                Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The scientists, 
                innovators, and public health professionals receiving

[[Page 22890]]

                ARPA-H funding are working day and night to 
                revolutionize the prevention, detection, and treatment 
                of cancer and other deadly diseases. In time, these 
                breakthroughs could one day reduce the need for organ 
                transplants or eliminate the need for anti-rejection 
                medication. For example, to make it easier and faster 
                for patients to get a transplant, ARPA-H has already 
                invested $26 million into addressing organ transplant 
                shortages through on-demand 3D tissue printing, 
                beginning with a human heart.

                Millions of Americans have embraced the American spirit 
                of helping those in need by signing up to be organ 
                donors. Any adult can register, regardless of age or 
                medical history. In many States you can sign up by 
                simply checking a box when you renew your driver's 
                license. I encourage all Americans to learn more about 
                organ, eye, and tissue donation by visiting 
                organdonor.gov or bloodstemcell.hrsa.gov for more 
                information on donating bone marrow. This National 
                Donate Life Month, let us redouble our efforts to save 
                and improve more lives by lending a hand to our fellow 
                Americans in need of life-saving organ transplants.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by the authority vested 
                in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim April 2024 as National 
                Donate Life Month. I call on every person who can to 
                share the gift of life and hope by becoming an organ, 
                eye, tissue, or bone marrow donor. I also call on this 
                Nation to observe National Pediatric Transplant Week 
                from April 21 through April 27, a week dedicated to 
                ending the pediatric transplant waiting list.

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

[FR Doc. 2024-07190
Filed 4-2-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P