093_HR0405
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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, In Illinois, more than 4,700 men, women and
3 children are among the 80,000 across the United States
4 awaiting lifesaving organ transplants; and
5 WHEREAS, Each day, about 100 names are added to the
6 national list, while an average of 17 people die waiting; and
7 WHEREAS, Just as important is the donation of lifesaving
8 and life-enhancing tissue including bone, skin, heart valves,
9 ligaments, tendons, and major blood vessels; more than
10 750,000 tissue transplants are performed each year in the
11 United States-about 2,100 a day; and
12 WHEREAS, It is estimated that 1 in 20 Americans will need
13 some type of medical tissue transplant during a lifetime;
14 despite the number of transplants performed and the
15 anticipated future need, just 8 percent of the need for
16 transplantable tissue is currently being met; and
17 WHEREAS, Every 3 seconds, a patient needs life-sustaining
18 donated blood - an accident victim, a patient undergoing
19 surgery, or a patient receiving treatment for leukemia,
20 cancer or another disease; and
21 WHEREAS, The demand for blood is greater today than ever,
22 as the nation's supply needs constant replenishment; an
23 estimated 8 million people donate blood in the United States
24 each year, but many more donors are needed; and
25 WHEREAS, Heartland Blood Centers, a non-profit medical
26 organization supplying all blood and blood products to 34
27 Illinois and Indiana hospitals, must collect 450 pints of
28 voluntarily donated blood every day in order to meet patient
29 transfusion needs in the area it serves; therefore, be it
30 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
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1 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
2 we encourage the citizens of this State to donate blood
3 during "Donate Blood Week" which takes place on August 10-16,
4 2003.