HOUSE MEMORIAL 116

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Monica Youngblood

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION OF THE TAXATION AND REVENUE DEPARTMENT TO ASSIST NEW MEXICO DONOR SERVICES IN EDUCATING NEW MEXICANS ABOUT GIVING THE "GIFT OF LIFE" BY REGISTERING TO BE ORGAN AND TISSUE DONORS.

     WHEREAS, April is national "Donate Life Month", a celebration of those who provide vital organ, cornea and tissue donations, and a time of new hope for the growing list of men, women and children who still need a life-saving organ, cornea or tissue transplant; and

     WHEREAS, one organ donor can save the lives of nine people, and one tissue donor can improve the lives of fifty people; and

     WHEREAS, transplanted organs include kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas and intestines; and

     WHEREAS, transplanted tissues include corneas, heart valves, skin, bone, tendons and veins; and

     WHEREAS, in 2014, more than one hundred twenty-three thousand people awaited life-saving transplants in the United States, including seven hundred fifty-seven in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, a new name is added to the national donor waiting list every ten minutes, and eighteen patients die each day awaiting a transplant because the organ they needed was not available in time; and

     WHEREAS, in 2014, there were fifty-four New Mexicans who made an organ donation, resulting in one hundred forty-nine life-saving organ transplants; and

     WHEREAS, the quality of life of over seven thousand individuals will be dramatically improved as a result of New Mexicans who donated tissue; and

     WHEREAS, the gift of sight was given to those needing a transplant by three hundred twenty-two New Mexico donors; and

     WHEREAS, minorities represent seventy-two percent of organ transplant candidates in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, in New Mexico, Hispanics represent fifty percent of individuals awaiting kidney transplants, and Native Americans represent nineteen percent of patients awaiting kidney transplants; and

     WHEREAS, minorities are three to five times more likely to suffer from conditions that lead to organ failure, such as diabetes, hypertension and hepatitis; and

     WHEREAS, many New Mexico residents requiring liver transplantation must leave the state for this life-saving surgery and incur the cost of relocation while waiting for a transplant; and

     WHEREAS, the goal of donor and tissue organ awareness and education is to increase the number of individuals choosing to donate organs and tissue while decreasing the waiting period for those individuals in need of an organ or tissue transplant; and

     WHEREAS, organ donors can register through New Mexico donor services or through a motor vehicle division branch;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the department of health and the motor vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department be requested to assist New Mexico donor services in educating New Mexicans about the importance of giving the "gift of life" by registering to be organ and tissue donors; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of health, the secretary of taxation and revenue, the director of the motor vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department and the executive director of New Mexico donor services.