| 1 | 1 | | H.R. No. 317 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, Bone Marrow, Blood, and Organ Donation Registry Day |
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| 6 | 6 | | was observed in Texas on February 26, 2023; and |
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| 7 | 7 | | WHEREAS, Each year, Bone Marrow, Blood, and Organ Donation |
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| 8 | 8 | | Registry Day encourages citizens across the Lone Star State to |
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| 9 | 9 | | register to become donors and to participate in local blood drives; |
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| 10 | 10 | | while donations play an essential role in a broad range of critical |
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| 11 | 11 | | medical treatments, only two percent of the population is on the |
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| 12 | 12 | | national registry for bone marrow, and only about half of Americans |
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| 13 | 13 | | are signed up to be organ donors; moreover, while an estimated 37 |
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| 14 | 14 | | percent of U.S. residents are eligible to donate blood, less than 10 |
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| 15 | 15 | | percent of that group actually does so each year; and |
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| 16 | 16 | | WHEREAS, A single organ donor can save up to eight lives and |
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| 17 | 17 | | enhance the lives of up to 75 others; there are currently over |
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| 18 | 18 | | 105,000 individuals on the national transplant waiting list, with a |
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| 19 | 19 | | new name added every 10 minutes; although there are more than 40,000 |
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| 20 | 20 | | transplants performed annually, 17 people die each day while |
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| 21 | 21 | | waiting for organs to become available; and |
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| 22 | 22 | | WHEREAS, Bone Marrow, Blood, and Organ Donation Registry Day |
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| 23 | 23 | | was initiated to honor Dr. Anh Nguyen Reiss, a Houston physician |
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| 24 | 24 | | who was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome and who dedicated |
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| 25 | 25 | | the last years of her life to raising awareness of the need for bone |
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| 26 | 26 | | marrow donors; though she passed away on February 26, 2016, at the |
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| 27 | 27 | | age of 48, she and her family and friends helped more than double |
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| 28 | 28 | | the number of Vietnamese donors on the registry; on May 29, 2019, |
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| 29 | 29 | | Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill of the 86th Texas Legislature to |
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| 30 | 30 | | designate February 26 as Bone Marrow, Blood, and Organ Donation |
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| 31 | 31 | | Registry Day; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | WHEREAS, Bone marrow, blood, and organ donation can give hope |
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| 33 | 33 | | to countless Americans for longer, healthier lives, and this worthy |
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| 34 | 34 | | cause is one that deserves the earnest support of every citizen; |
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| 35 | 35 | | now, therefore, be it |
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| 36 | 36 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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| 37 | 37 | | Legislature hereby commemorate Bone Marrow, Blood, and Organ |
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| 38 | 38 | | Donation Registry Day 2023 and encourage all Texans to give blood |
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| 39 | 39 | | and to sign up to become organ and bone marrow donors. |
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| 40 | 40 | | Wu |
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| 41 | 41 | | ______________________________ |
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| 42 | 42 | | Speaker of the House |
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| 43 | 43 | | I certify that H.R. No. 317 was adopted by the House on |
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| 44 | 44 | | February 28, 2023, by a non-record vote. |
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| 45 | 45 | | ______________________________ |
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| 46 | 46 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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