Presidential Document2022-07274
National Donate Life Month, 2022
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 5, 2022
Signed
March 31, 2022
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 19587-19588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07274]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 5, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 19587]]
Proclamation 10360 of March 31, 2022
National Donate Life Month, 2022
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Today, more than 100,000 men, women, and children in
the United States need a life-saving organ transplant.
In many cases, an organ donation provides another
chance to live a full life. For those waiting for that
gift of life--the uncertainty can be excruciating,
exacting a physical and emotional toll on the potential
recipient and their loved ones. During National Donate
Life Month, we give thanks to the families and friends
of donors who have supported their loved one's decision
to save lives by donating; we show our appreciation for
the professionals who serve the transplantation
community; and we encourage Americans who can to become
organ, eye, tissue, marrow, and blood donors. In so
doing, we honor those who have given this most
extraordinary of gifts.
Last year, because of the charity and generosity of the
American people, our Nation's transplant experts
performed more than 41,000 organ transplants--a record
number. We saw organ donations from deceased donors set
an annual record for the 11th consecutive year. Living
donor transplants, which decreased significantly in
2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, increased with over
6,500 living donor transplants performed.
Despite our progress, our Nation continues to face a
critical shortage of organ donors, and the number of
people in need of a transplant is high, with 17 people
dying every day while waiting for a transplant. Today's
transplant waitlist also includes more than 1,900
children under the age of 18 awaiting the gift of life.
That is why during National Donate Life Month, we also
recognize National Pediatric Transplant Week from April
24-30, a period dedicated to ending the pediatric
transplant waiting list.
Waitlist data shows that people of color make up nearly
60 percent of individuals awaiting an organ transplant.
To increase access to transplantation for everyone, we
recommit to promoting greater diversity in organ
donation, as we continue to advance health equity for
all communities, including those that have gone
underserved, across our Nation.
Every year, nearly 18,000 people in America are
diagnosed with life-threatening blood cancers or other
diseases for which a blood stem cell transplant may be
their best or only hope for a cure. Approximately 70
percent of these individuals need donors from outside
their families. Although nearly 23 million adults in
the United States are currently registered as blood
stem cell donors, we need more registrants to help the
many individuals who still have difficulty finding a
suitably matched donor.
During National Donate Life Month, we thank the
millions of individuals across America who are living
or registered organ donors. We recognize and commend
the researchers, advocates, volunteers, and medical
professionals working to reduce the number of people
awaiting vital organ transplants. Our Nation applauds
the therapeutic innovations that have decreased rates
of organ rejection and have extended the lifespan of
transplanted organs.
While transplantation continues to increase
substantially and meet the needs of many people with
organ failure, we must continue our efforts to shorten
[[Page 19588]]
the waiting list and encourage organ donation. If you
have not signed up as an organ donor, we can use your
help. I encourage every American to help people in need
by visiting <a href="http://organdonor.gov">organdonor.gov</a> for organ, eye, and tissue
donation, and <a href="http://bloodstemcell.hrsa.gov">bloodstemcell.hrsa.gov</a> for marrow and
blood donation.
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 2022 as National
Donate Life Month. I call upon every person who can to
share the gift of life and hope by becoming organ, eye,
tissue, marrow, and blood donors.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
sixth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2022-07274
Filed 4-4-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 5, 2022.
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