Senate Resolution No. 513

BY: Senator HANNON

MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
April 2017 as Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Month
in the State of New York, in conjunction with the
observance of National Donate Life Month

WHEREAS, Organ and tissue transplantation has advanced from an
experimental technique to a successful mode of therapy; for many,
transplants mean an improvement in the quality of life; for others they
mean the difference between life and death; and

WHEREAS, Each year the waiting list for organ transplants grows
longer; many people die before an organ becomes available; the need for
organ donation is real and urgent; and

WHEREAS, Nationally, the current waiting list for organs has reached
nearly 119,000 individuals and thousands more need tissues; in New York
State alone, nearly 10,000 people are waiting for a transplant; more
names are added to the waiting list daily and the number of people on
the waiting list far exceeds the number of donors; and

WHEREAS, To focus attention on the importance of organ and tissue
donation and to express gratitude for those who have already given the
gift of life, it is the intent of this Legislative Body to memorialize
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim April 2017 as Organ and Tissue
Donor Awareness Month in the State of New York, in conjunction with the
observance of National Donate Life Month, which incorporates both organ
and tissue, as well as other donations; and

WHEREAS, Citizens of the State of New York have, for many years,
been encouraged to sign up to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor through
the New York State Donate Life Registry, a database of individuals who
have chosen, upon their death, to donate their organs and tissues,
through online registration, when they apply for or renew their driver's
license or non-driver identification card, when completing their paper
voter registration form, or at various locations and events held
throughout the State each year; and

WHEREAS, Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Month provides the
opportunity to help New Yorkers learn more about organ donation, to help
the thousands of patients awaiting transplantations, and to recognize
the critical need for organ, eye, tissue, bone marrow, and blood
donation; and

WHEREAS, Many New Yorkers have set a powerful example, agreeing to
become organ and tissue donors and taking selfless action which may
potentially save or enhance the lives of others, yet there continues to
be a shortage of vitally-needed organs and tissues and the disparity
between the number of registered donors and the number of people needing
transplants grows each year; a single person donating at the time of
their death can help as many as 75 people; and

WHEREAS, No one knows when they or a loved one may need a transplant
to survive, or tissue to repair injury or treat disease; while there are

over 19 million New Yorkers, currently, only 4.4 million are enrolled in
the New York State Donate Life Registry; and

WHEREAS, The observance of Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Month
provides the opportunity to educate people, to encourage them to
consider organ and tissue donation, to add their names to the New York
State Donate Life Registry expressing their consent to donate, ensuring
that more lives are saved, and to inform their families and friends of
their decision; and

WHEREAS, Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Month is also a time to
recognize and applaud the researchers, medical professionals, advocates
and volunteers, past and present, who have contributed so much to the
advancement of organ and tissue donation and transplantation and, most
particularly, to acknowledge and express our deepest gratitude for the
extraordinary generosity and altruistic gifts of deceased and living
donors and their families, so that others may have the opportunity to
rear a family, hold a job, and pursue a fuller and more active life;
now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim April 2017 as Organ and
Tissue Donor Awareness Month in the State of New York; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of
New York, the LiveOnNY, the Long Island Transplant Recipients
International Organization, and the New York Alliance for Donation.