| 2 | 3 | | |
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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Through medical expertise and advances in organ and |
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| 6 | 7 | | tissue transplants, more lives are being saved, improved, and |
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| 7 | 8 | | prolonged than ever before; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, Such transplants are made possible by organ |
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| 9 | 10 | | donations from deceased and living persons, a noble act that gives |
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| 10 | 11 | | multitudes of recipients a second chance at life; and |
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| 11 | 12 | | WHEREAS, The Glenda Dawson Donate Life Texas registry, |
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| 12 | 13 | | created by the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate in |
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| 13 | 14 | | 2005, provides a method for willing donors to record legal consent |
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| 14 | 15 | | for organ, eye, and tissue donation, thereby lifting the |
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| 15 | 16 | | decision-making burden from families at the time of a loved one's |
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| 16 | 17 | | death; and |
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| 17 | 18 | | WHEREAS, More than seven million Texans have joined the |
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| 18 | 19 | | registry to date, thanks in part to partnerships forged with the |
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| 19 | 20 | | Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of |
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| 20 | 21 | | Transportation that enable citizens to sign up during the driver's |
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| 21 | 22 | | license, ID, and vehicle registration processes; gratitude for this |
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| 22 | 23 | | endeavor is also owed to the tireless public education efforts of |
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| 23 | 24 | | the donation community and their passionate volunteers in Texas; |
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| 24 | 25 | | and |
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| 25 | 26 | | WHEREAS, While the Donate Life Texas registry is a notable |
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| 26 | 27 | | step, more work remains to be done to ensure that the wishes of |
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| 27 | 28 | | every potential donor are carried out; the wait for a lifesaving |
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| 28 | 29 | | organ transplant continues for more than 123,000 people nationwide, |
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| 29 | 30 | | 21 of whom are expected to die before this day is over; and |
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| 30 | 31 | | WHEREAS, Individuals representing the Texas Transplantation |
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| 31 | 32 | | Society and the Glenda Dawson Donate Life Texas registry are united |
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| 32 | 33 | | in their mission to educate Texans about the critical and rising |
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| 33 | 34 | | need for donors, the transformative impact of donation, and the |
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| 34 | 35 | | simple steps that can be taken to register; in 2014, 739 people |
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| 35 | 36 | | became organ donors in Texas, resulting in successful transplant |
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| 36 | 37 | | operations for 2,600 patients; and |
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| 37 | 38 | | WHEREAS, The choice of registering as an organ donor is one |
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| 38 | 39 | | that can provide hope beyond measure to men, women, and children in |
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| 39 | 40 | | need, and those who have committed to the goal of promoting and |
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| 40 | 41 | | facilitating donations truly merit special commendation; now, |
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| 41 | 42 | | therefore, be it |
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| 42 | 43 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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| 43 | 44 | | Legislature hereby recognize March 23, 2015, as Donate Life Texas |
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| 44 | 45 | | Day at the State Capitol, pay tribute to transplant donors and their |
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| 45 | 46 | | families, and encourage all Texans to consider giving the gift of |
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| 46 | 47 | | life through organ donation. |
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