Res 0648-2015

By Council Members Constantinides, Johnson, Arroyo, Chin, Cornegy, Dromm, Espinal, Gibson, Koo, Koslowitz, Palma, Cohen, Eugene, Rodriguez, Lander, Van Bramer, Kallos and Rosenthal Whereas, According to Donate Life America (DLA), an alliance of national organizations and state teams across the United States committed to increasing organ, eye and tissue donation, as of January 2015, nearly 124,000 people in the United States were awaiting organ transplants; and Whereas, According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 21 people in the United States die each day waiting for an organ; and Whereas, DLA and HHS each report that a single organ donor can save up to 8 lives and save or heal more than 100 lives through tissue donation; and Whereas, According to the National Kidney Foundation, in the United States, every 5 minutes someone goes into kidney failure, and 25 million Americans have kidney disease; and Whereas, HHS reports that there are 58 organ procurement organizations in the United States, responsible for both increasing the number of registered donors as well as coordinating the donation process when actual donors become available; and Whereas, HHS also informs that the altruistic process of donation begins when people perform the simple act of indicating their consent to be a donor by enrolling in their state's donor registry; and Whereas, According to DMV.ORG (DMV), an organ donation awareness organization not affiliated with the Department of Motor Vehicles, in New York State, every 13 hours another patient dies waiting for an organ transplant; and Whereas, DMV also informs that in New York, a person can register as an organ donor in person, by mail, or online if he or she is at least 18 years old, and that person may indicate their desire to become a donor when they obtain or renew their driver's license or state ID card; and Whereas, The New York Board of Elections also allows an individual to sign up as an organ donor when that person completes their voter registration form; and Whereas, According to LiveOnNY, an organ donation association, more than 10,000 people are waiting for organ transplants in LiveOnNY's service area; and Whereas, LiveOnNY serves 13 million people in the New York metropolitan area, which includes the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island, and the northern counties up to Poughkeepsie; and Whereas, LiveOnNY reports that of the 10,000 persons waiting for organ transplants, more than 8,000 await kidneys, more than 1,300 need livers, and more than 300 need hearts; and Whereas, It is important to raise awareness of the great need for organ donation; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York recognizes this and every April as Organ Donation Awareness Month in the City of New York. MB LS 4206 3/18/15 1