[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 17 (Monday, April 28, 1997)]
[Pages 555-556]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6992--National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, 1997

April 19, 1997

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Giving life to another through an organ or tissue transplant is one 
of the most selfless human acts. The person choosing to become a donor 
usually receives no tangible thanks and gains no fame or glory from the 
gesture. And yet the decision to sign a donor card does give the donor a 
quiet, inner fulfillment in the knowledge that he or she may one day 
help save a life, bringing new joy to another person and their family. 
Often, for many Americans, this sense of fulfillment is sufficient 
thanks.
    Today, more than 50,000 Americans are on the national transplant 
waiting list and about 2,000 more people need transplants every month. 
Unfortunately, even though this country has an adequate supply of 
individuals who qualify as organ donors, many people have still not 
chosen to become one. Patients in truly desperate circumstances are 
depending on their fellow Americans to choose to become organ and tissue 
donors.
    Stunning advances in transplant research and technology have made 
miracles possible, but we must do our part to make the dreams of people 
awaiting transplants become reality. Many Americans are unaware of the 
national shortage of organ donors, and all of us must work together to 
spread the word.
    Let us take advantage of our enormous power to save a life or to 
enrich the quality of life for those who otherwise face endless pain, 
torment, or death. I urge every American to respond to the urgent call 
for organ and tissue donors by signing a donor card

[[Page 556]]

immediately. Let us also reach out to educate our fellow Americans about 
the importance of organ and tissue donations. We must work with our 
religious communities and community organizations to spread this 
important message. The Federal Government has already established 
partnerships with the Union of Hebrew Congregations and the Congress of 
National Black Churches in an effort to educate congregations and clergy 
across our Nation through sermons, Sunday school programs, and community 
events. We should do more.
    We should recognize that our greatest ambassadors for organ and 
tissue donation are donors, donor families and recipients. Their 
personal stories have motivated and inspired others, and we should take 
better advantage of these great resources. Taken together, these and 
other efforts will save the lives of countless loved ones. And we should 
take the opportunity to recognize and celebrate Americans who donate 
these gifts of life.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 20 
through April 26, 1997, as National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness 
Week. I call upon health care professionals, educators, the media, 
public and private organizations concerned with organ donation and 
transplantation, and all the people of the United States to observe this 
week with appropriate activities and programs that promote organ 
donation and invite new donors to become involved.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day 
of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-first.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:58 a.m., April 22, 
1997]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on April 
23.