Title
To proclaim the month of April 2006 as DONATE LIFE MONTH in the City of COLUMBUS.
Body
WHEREAS, One person can save the lives of seven people through organ donation, enhance the lives of more than 50 individuals through tissue donation, restore the sight of two people through eye donation and help thousands in the future through research and teaching; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 92,000 Americans are currently waiting for a life-saving organ transplant; and
WHEREAS, In City of Columbus, over 600 people are waiting for an organ transplant at any time, and many more await life-enhancing tissue transplants; and
WHEREAS, A single donor can dramatically change and improve the lives of dozens of people through their anatomical gift and help promote the slogan, DONATE LIFE!; and
WHEREAS, In 2005, 79 Central Ohioans shared the Gift of Life at the time of their death and through their unselfish generosity 257 individuals received a second chance at life through organ transplantation; and
WHEREAS, In 2005, thanks to the generosity of living kidney donors, surgeons at the The Ohio State University Comprehensive Transplant Center gave 136 people a second chance at life through kidney transplants; and
WHEREAS, Statistically, every other day an Ohioan dies waiting for transplantation. In the last five years over 1,000 Ohioans have died waiting for a transplant; and
WHEREAS, The City of Columbus has joined Lifeline of Ohio and the US Department of Health and Human Services to educate city employees and our citizens about the importance of organ and tissue donation, and to encourage them to consider this generous choice; and
WHEREAS, The City of Columbus passed a Donor Leave Policy for city employees to support their choice for living donation to save the life of a family member or friend, and already ---- employees have stepped forward to share life through donation; and
WHEREAS, Central Ohioans can declare their wish to become a donor at the time of their death by indicating their intentions in the Ohio Donor Registry when renewing their driver license or State ID at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, or by registering on-line at www.lifelineofohio.org; and
WHEREAS, Lifeline of Ohio is the designated organ procurement organization serving Central Ohio and The Ohio State University Medical Center and Children's Hospital are the area's exemplary transplant centers; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That we do hereby designate the month of April 2006 as DONATE LIFE MONTH in the City of Columbus and we strongly encourage all citizens to consider the heroic difference a single donor can make in the lives of others and register their advance directive for organ, tissue and eye donation in the Ohio Donor Registry.