Re: Organ donors medal proposed

[Guest guest]

I live in NY and when I donated my liver to my son the state sent me a beautiful medal, actually 3. 2 are lapel pins and 1 is for the wall. MartiBarb Henshaw wrote: Organ donors medal proposed May 14, 2007 WASHINGTON - Organ donors and their surviving relatives should be recognized with a new congressional

medal, says a bipartisan group in Congress and several organizations aiding transplant work. Democrats and Republicans from several states are backing the proposed medal program and want to name it after former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a former heart and lung transplant surgeon. Frist, a Tennessee Republican, was among those in past years seeking more support to pass a "gift of life" medal program. Dr. Crippin, a liver specialist in St. Louis and president of the American Society of Transplantation, said naming the medal program after Frist "is very appropriate. His efforts were crucial in getting transplant-related issues to the forefront of the congressional schedule." Among Tennesseans endorsing the medal legislation are Democratic Rep. Jim of Nashville, Republican Reps. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga and Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood, and Republican Sens. Lamar and Bob Corker. "I don't know if we're going

to see huge increases in donation" of organs if the medal program becomes law, Crippin said, "but I would say even if it helps one person get through the process then it's done some good." About 100,000 people on any given day are seeking organs for transplant, and an average of 17 die daily (about 6,000 annually) while waiting, according to the National Kidney Foundation. A majority await a kidney - more than 70,000 at last count. The United Network for Organ Sharing, which matches organ donors and coordinates transplants across the country, also is one of several organizations endorsing the medal concept. The medal could be a pleasant remembrance for many family members of "the good that came out of the tragedy of losing their loved one," said Anne Paschke of UNOS. Before his first election to the

Senate in 1994, Frist in 1986 helped start the heart and lung transplant program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and later worked with others successfully to get organ donor cards returned to the back of Tennessee driver's licenses. In the Senate, he helped pass a law to insert organ and tissue donor cards and

information in mail containing income tax refunds. He and a Democrat, Sen. Dodd of Connecticut, were able to pass improvements in the national organ donor program. Frist said in a written

statement that he felt humbled that both Republicans and Democrats are proposing to name the medal program after him. The legislation directs the secretary of the treasury to design the medal's emblems and inscriptions. Barb in Texas - Together in the Fight, Whatever it Takes! Son Ken (33) UC 91 - PSC 99 Listed 7/21 @ Baylor Dallas

Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool.

[Guest guest]

From the posted article:

“The

medal could be a pleasant remembrance for many family members of " the good

that came out of the tragedy of losing their loved one, " said Anne Paschke

of UNOS.”

It’s a wonderful, worthy,

long-overdue idea, this organ donor congressional medal, most definitely…

…but Jim & I think it would be a

very sad shame to limit recipients of such a medal solely to family members of

a cadaveric donor… and exclude living donors. We’re not thinking

merely of heroes like our own son, (who moved forward with his selfless,

brave decision when the adult-to-adult surgery was still pretty darned rare,

& despite more than a few doctors expressing their concerns to about

the involved surgical risks – some of them as-yet-unknown), but quite a

few other donors, too… right here, represented in this PSC support group!!!

Jim & I are expressing our views, btw,

at the risk of coming across as biased… which I assure you, we aren’t.

With all our hearts, we sincerely regard ALL donors as heroes… as well as

each & every consenting spouse/parent/family member of a donor who unfortunately

had to die in order to give the Gift of Life.

Maureen & Jim White

From:

[mailto: ]

On Behalf Of Barb Henshaw

Sent: Monday, May 28, 2007 11:09

AM; To: ; Subject: Organ donors medal

proposed

Organ donors medal proposed

May 14, 2007

WASHINGTON

- Organ donors and their surviving relatives should be recognized with a new

congressional medal, says a bipartisan group in Congress and several

organizations aiding transplant work.