'The gift of life' - The Everson Walls and Ron Springs Gift for Life Act of 2007

Organ Donation - 'The gift of life'

By U. S. Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), NNPA Special Commentary
January 7, 2008 talkback

This has been the season of giving, a time to celebrate with family and friends as we come together to share the joy of the holidays.

So I wanted to take this opportunity to share some good news with you about how new legislation that I introduced will help more Americans give the ultimate gift... the gift of life.

Organ donation is one of modern medicine's most effective, life-saving therapies. In fact, over the last 20 years, more than 390,000 successful organ transplants have been performed.

Unfortunately, during that same time, the waiting list for an organ transplant has more than doubled.

Last year in the United States, over 6,000 Americans died while waiting for their lives to be renewed through transplantation. As of today, nearly 97,000 patients are waiting for a donated organ.

After personally witnessing the devastating affects of patients trapped on dialysis, I'm convinced that any serious discussion of our healthcare system must include new efforts to increase organ and tissue donation, and to make that a national priority.

That's why I introduced H.R. 3635:

The Everson Walls and Ron Springs Gift for Life Act of 2007.

This legislation would provide assistance to state organ donor programs and track the long-term health of individuals who are generous enough to become organ donors.

It also establishes a national organ and tissue donor registry resource center charged with providing information, technical assistance and grants to donor registries administered by the states.

At a recent hearing before the House Oversight Subcommittee that I chair, former NFL star Everson Walls told the moving story of his courageous decision last February, to donate one of his kidneys in order to save the life of his close friend, and former Dallas Cowboys teammate, Ron Springs.

Springs had been diagnosed with diabetes which led to end-stage kidney disease. It turned out that his old teammate, Everson Walls, was a perfect match for a kidney transplant.

On February 28th, Everson Walls gave his friend Ron Springs the ultimate gift, a new kidney. Today, more than half of the patients waiting for kidney transplants are African American or Hispanic. But nine out of ten African-Americans who undergo transplant surgery receive a donated organ from a non-African American.

The medical evidence indicates that matching organs between members of the same ethnic and racial group often produces the best outcome.

So this shortage of minority donors contributes to a longer waiting periods, which means that many lives that could have been saved are lost. And yet, as a people, we have the power to change that. As we prepare to celebrate this joyous holiday, I hope that you will take a moment to reflect on all the good things in your life and make a personal decision today to become part of a vital life-saving partnership.

This year, become an organ donor, and give the most precious gift of all, the gift of life.

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