[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 16 (Monday, April 20, 1998)]
[Pages 667-668]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7083--National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, 1998

April 17, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    On December 1, 1997, 14-year-old Nicole Hadley was killed when a 
classmate opened fire inside her high school in Paducah, Kentucky. When 
doctors told Gwen and Chuck Hadley that their daughter had no hope for 
recovery, her parents remembered that Nicole believed strongly in organ 
donation, and in the midst of their own intense grief, the Hadleys made 
the courageous decision to honor Nicole's wishes and donate her organs. 
This decision helped to save the lives of at least two people and 
allowed Nicole's spirit of grace and generosity to live on after her 
death.
    Thousands of families have made the same selfless decision and have 
given the gift of life to someone in need of an organ or tissue 
transplantation. Today, approximately 55,000 Americans are on the 
national organ transplant waiting list, hoping for a second chance. Yet, 
every day, 10 people will die because

[[Page 668]]

organs are not available. These tragic deaths are unnecessary. Our 
country has a large number of people who qualify as organ donors--but 
many still have not chosen to become donors.
    Last year, to help remedy this situation. Vice President Gore, with 
the Department of Health and Human Services, launched the National Organ 
and Tissue Donation Initiative to increase awareness of the urgent need 
for increased donation. We are working to ensure that all Americans know 
that by completing and carrying a donor card--and by making their 
families aware of their decision to donate--they may give the gift of 
life to other Americans or ease their suffering. And families who have 
lost their loved ones can gain solace in knowing that they have been 
able to bring life and comfort to others. This week, I encourage all 
Americans to honor the memory of Nicole Hadley--and the thousands of 
other generous people who have donated their organs--by learning more 
about the benefits of becoming an organ and tissue donor and by filling 
out a donor card.
    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 19 
through April 25, 1998, as 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, the clergy, and all Americans to join me in promoting 
greater awareness and acceptance of this humanitarian action.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day 
of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-second.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., April 21, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
April 22.