WHEREAS, This Commonwealth has 18 transplant centers and is
recognized as the world leader in organ and tissue
transplantation; and
WHEREAS, State law enables citizens to donate their organs
and tissues through placing the donor designation on the
driver's licenses or State identification cards and also allows
relatives to consent to the donation of organs and tissues of a
deceased family member; and
WHEREAS, A vital component of the continuation and
advancement of organ transplantation is the recovery of donor
organs and tissues; and
WHEREAS, The lifesaving work of transplant team medical
professionals and researchers to improve techniques and
antirejection drugs has resulted in a significant increase
success rate for organ transplantations; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is a national and international leader
in the field of donation and transplantation, but the number of
people in need of transplants far exceeds the number of organs
and the amount of tissue available; and
WHEREAS, Despite the progress made in Pennsylvania's Organ
and Tissue Donor Awareness Program through the efforts of the
Commonwealth's organ procurement organizations, Gift of Life
Donor Program and the Center for Organ Recovery and Education
and their partnering hospitals and exceptional health care
workers, the growing demand for donated organ and tissues for
transplantations represents a public health issue which merits
action; and
WHEREAS, If this Commonwealth is to remain a leader in organ
donation and transplantation, it is necessary that the
pronouncements and public policies of the State government both
20210SR0100PN0698 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30