Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 66 (April 6, 2016)
Page Range
20211-20212
FR Document
2016-08077
Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 2016)
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 20211-20212]
From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08077]
[[Page 20209]]
Vol. 81
Wednesday,
No. 66
April 6, 2016
Part V
The President
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Proclamation 9415--National Donate Life Month, 2016
Proclamation 9416--National Public Health Week, 2016
Proclamation 9417--National Autism Awareness Day, 2016
Notice of April 4, 2016--Continuation of the National Emergency With
Respect to Somalia
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 66 / Wednesday, April 6, 2016 /
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
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Proclamation 9415 of April 1, 2016
National Donate Life Month, 2016
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
By becoming an organ donor, one person can save the
lives of up to eight people and improve the lives of
dozens--mothers and daughters, fathers and sons,
brothers and sisters--who are desperately in need of a
transplant. During National Donate Life Month, we lift
up the thousands of selfless individuals across America
who are living or registered organ donors. And as we
honor those who have saved lives in the past by
donating organs, we recommit to supporting the
researchers, innovators, advocates, and medical
professionals working to reduce the number of people
awaiting vital organ transplants.
A rising demand for organs exists without enough organs
to meet it, making the urgency for those willing and
able to donate even more critical and the need for
innovation and support even more imperative. My
Administration has striven to support donors and
recipients and to expand the availability of organs for
transplant. In 2010, the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), building on efforts within the
transplant community, launched a nationwide kidney
exchange program to bring together pairs of kidney
donors and recipients in an effort to increase the
quality and quantity of kidney transplants. HHS has
also made more financial support available to low-
income living donors to help cover expenses like travel
and lodging costs that are often incurred throughout
the donation process. The Affordable Care Act offers
greater security to living donors by prohibiting
insurers from denying health coverage to someone with a
preexisting condition--donating an organ may have
previously been considered a preexisting condition and
prevented individuals from obtaining the care they
deserved after selflessly giving an organ to someone in
need. And in 2013, I signed the bipartisan HOPE Act,
paving the way for the first transplants in the United
States between HIV-positive donors and recipients--and
the first of these life-saving transplants took place
earlier this year.
Anyone can indicate their desire to be a donor,
regardless of age or medical history, and I encourage
all Americans to consult their family members and
communicate their choice. More information on donation
and opportunities to register can be found by visiting
www.OrganDonor.gov.
Through Medicare, the Federal Government spends nearly
$35 billion each year to care for the more than half a
million patients with end-stage kidney failure in the
United States. Increasing accessibility to organs can
save lives while helping to defray overall healthcare
costs. As we work to get more people off of the waiting
list and into the operating room for a transplant, we
are continuing to invest in researching new and
innovative ways to address this critical issue. Over
the span of three recent years, we invested nearly $3
billion into regenerative medicine research, and we are
making great strides in advancing treatment and
improving technological capabilities. Additionally, we
have opened new doors of collaboration with businesses,
universities, and foundations to progress our
prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious
diseases. Our Nation has taken bold steps in recent
years, and we will continue working to reduce the organ
waiting list by
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building on our efforts to utilize regeneration and
other methods for ensuring a balance between the supply
and demand of vital organs.
Last year, the United States exceeded 30,000 annual
organ transplants for the first time. Progress has been
made and great promise exists, but much work remains to
help the more than 120,000 Americans on the organ
waiting list. This month, let us remember those we have
lost and provide support to all who continue to wait
and hope. Across government, industry, academia,
private organizations, and the medical and
philanthropic communities, we must all do our part to
lift up donors, donor families, and patients by
supporting efforts to shorten the organ waiting list.
Together, we can improve and save lives by celebrating
those who give of themselves--whether as living donors
or as registered donors--to provide the greatest gift
there is to offer.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim April 2016 as
National Donate Life Month. I call upon health care
professionals, volunteers, educators, government
agencies, faith-based and community groups, and private
organizations to join forces to boost the number of
organ, eye, and tissue donors throughout our Nation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
first day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and fortieth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2016-08077
Filed 4-5-16; 11:15 am]
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