Political Quotes

“I speak today in full support of House Concurrent Resolution 31, which expresses the importance of organ, tissue, bone marrow, and blood donations and celebrates National Donor Day. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague, Congresswoman Karen Thurman of Florida, for her continued leadership and sponsorship of this resolution. The need for blood, bone marrow, organ and tissue donation grows each year. So, do the concerns regarding access to these supplies, which are of a particular concern to rural areas such as Guam. Guam's distance from the states and geographical isolation forces hospitals to become almost solely dependent on the local population to supply its demand for donations. With the anticipated closing of the Naval Hospital Blood Bank, the Blood Bank in the Guam Memorial Hospital, the only civilian hospital on the island, will become the sole provider of blood products on the island. Therefore, it is critical to ensure that supplies of local blood products, including packed red blood cells, plasma and platelets, are regularly replenished and that the supply is enough to meet the needs in the event of a disaster or emergency situation.”