Former Cowboy testifies on organ donor bill

WASHINGTON — You can praise Everson Walls for picking off passes in the National Football League, but don't call him a hero for giving a kidney to former Dallas Cowboys teammate Ron Springs.

That's what Walls told a congressional committee on Tuesday as they lauded him for helping Springs.

"It's one thing about being called a hero, you are really put up on a pedestal," Walls said. "You don't want to put that pedestal up too high, because we want everyone to realize that as long as you have two good kidneys that you can qualify to become a living organ donor."

Walls testified before a House subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He spoke on behalf of an organ donation bill sponsored by the committee's chairman, Rep. William "Lacy" Clay, D-Mo.

Springs also was scheduled to testify, but Walls said he was undergoing rehabilitation.

Clay's bill would give grants to states' organ donor programs and track the long-term health of people who have donated organs.

The Everson Walls and Ron Springs Gift For Life Act of 2007 also would establish a clearinghouse for states on organ donation. The bill's cost is estimated at about $10 million.

Clay said 97,000 patients are waiting for organ donation and last year, 6,000 people in the U.S. died while awaiting transplants.

"I am convinced Congress must play a vital role in elevating the issue of organ and tissue donation to become a national priority," Clay said.

Walls donated his kidney to Springs in March as Springs' health was deteriorating from diabetes. Walls said Springs had known about his failing kidney while in the NFL and had denied it for some years.

The kidney may last 20 years or could only last five, Walls said. But he said the day after Springs got his kidney, his eyes seemed clearer, his vision better, the color of his once ashen face "came to life."

"That's one thing that gives me joy as a donor is to see him," Walls said.

Springs, a starter alongside Tony Dorsett, and Walls, a three-time NFL leader in interceptions, had been friends since Walls' first training camp with the Cowboys. They played together from 1981-84 and went to other teams after the Cowboys, but they and their families remained friends.

Walls said he also was promoting the Gift for Life Foundation he and Springs started to educate people about ways to prevent chronic kidney disease and dispel myths about the living donor process.

Walls said he particularly wants to reach out to minority and underserved communities, as well as retired NFL players who are too proud to get checked out or treated.

The foundation's long-term goal is to deploy mobile units that bring the kidney checkups to people. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, was introducing him to possible sponsors, he said.

Springs and Walls are relying on their celebrity to help boost their efforts.

"Anytime athletes are involved in something, whether good or bad, whether you are talking about dogfighting or you are talking about organ donation, it's always at the top of the news list," Walls said. "We want to make sure because of our status we are able to keep it there."

The bill is H.R. 3635.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5163999.html