Bill Text: HI HR37 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: World Kidney Day and Organ Donor Awareness Month

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-09 - (H) Referred to HLT, referral sheet 23 [HR37 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-HR37-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	37
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

recognizing March 11, 2010, as World Kidney Day and April 2010 as organ donor awareness month in Hawaii.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, organ donation is the gift of a kidney, heart, lung, liver, pancreas, or other vital organ for medical transplantation to others in serious need; and

 

     WHEREAS, organ transplantation is regarded as a standard medical treatment for a number of medical conditions and diseases, including chronic kidney disease, and thousands of individuals receive life-saving organ transplants each year; and

 

WHEREAS, survival rates following an organ transplant are impressive; for instance, the one-year survival rate for kidney transplant recipients is almost ninety-six per cent, for heart recipients, over eight-two per cent, and for liver recipients, more than eighty per cent; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite the growing number of successful transplant operations each year, more than one hundred thousand people nationwide remain on the waiting list for an organ, and in Hawaii, approximately three hundred seventy-five seriously-ill people of all ethnic groups are waiting for a liver, kidney, or pancreas transplant; and

 

WHEREAS, nationwide, approximately sixteen people in need of an organ transplant die every day, and in 2008, sixteen people died in Hawaii while on the organ transplant waitlist; and

 

     WHEREAS, the majority of transplant candidates on the transplant waiting list in Hawaii are awaiting a donor kidney, and the majority of the transplant operations performed in Hawaii are kidney transplants; and

 

     WHEREAS, one person's donated vital organs can save up to seven other people's lives who need an organ transplant; and

 

WHEREAS, persons who wish to become organ donors should let others know their wishes by registering with a state donor registry, saying "yes" to organ donation on their driver's license, telling their family, friends, physicians, and faith leaders that they want to be a donor, or filling out and signing a donor card; and

 

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, persons may easily register to become organ donors by registering on the Donate Life Hawaii website (www.donatelifehawaii.com); and

 

     WHEREAS, March 11, 2010, is World Kidney Day, organized to raise awareness of kidney disease prevention, promote preventative behavior, and encourage screenings for diabetes and hypertension, both of which contribute to chronic kidney disease; and

 

     WHEREAS, April is National Organ Donor Awareness Month, and in Hawaii it is important to honor those who have saved others by donating their organs and to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation and the need for donor organs; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, that this body recognizes March 11, 2010, as World Kidney Day; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all residents of Hawaii are encouraged to learn more about kidney disease and its risk factors and healthy behaviors that can reduce risk for diabetes and other chronic kidney diseases; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that persons are encouraged to have kidney and cardiovascular health screenings, free of charge, at the Hawaii State Capitol on World Kidney Day; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body recognizes April 2010 as Organ Donor Awareness Month in Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all residents of Hawaii are encouraged to learn more about the need for organ donation and discuss organ donation with their families, physicians, and religious leaders; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each county's driver's licensing division is urged to cooperate with the Organ Donor Center of Hawaii to educate the public about organ donation; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that local businesses such as gas companies, electric companies, and cable television companies are encouraged to provide their customers with educational materials on organ donation along with their April 2010 billing statements; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State of Hawaii, the counties, and other local employers are encouraged to provide their employees with educational materials on organ donation along with their paychecks and direct deposit statements in April 2010; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Comptroller, and the Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission, who in turn is requested to distribute copies of this Resolution to the chief executive officer of each regulated electric company and gas company in the State, the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs who in turn is requested to distribute copies of this Resolution to the chief executive officer of each cable television company in the State, the Director of Finance of each county, the Executive Director of the Organ Donor Center of Hawaii; and the Executive Director of the Hawaii chapter of the National Kidney Foundation.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

World Kidney Day and Organ Donor Awareness Month