Steven Holt: “I rise today to support the Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act. The need for human organs for donation has long…”

“I rise today to support the Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act. The need for human organs for donation has long been a silent crisis, one that rarely hits the headlines but can have a tremendous impact on thousands of patients and their families. Medical advances and the generosity of organ and tissue donors enable more than 22,000 Americans per year to receive organ transplants that save or enhance their lives. But despite the self-sacrifice and charity of so many donors, more than 84,000 Americans are currently on a waiting list, hoping to prolong their lives by finding a matching donor. Tragically, the number of patients waiting for organ transplants rose more than five times as fast as the number of transplant operations in the 1990s, according to an annual report by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). As a result, about 5,500 people die in the United States each year (or 15 patients each day) while waiting for a donated heart, liver, kidney, or other organ. Every 16 minutes, a new name is added to this growing waiting list. These numbers are indeed concerning, and they should merit greater attention. Each number represents a person--a human being with a family, friends, and a future, and I have met with several of them who live in central New Jersey. We need to do everything we can to ensure that they get access to the organs that could very well save their lives.”