By
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The government will begin issuing national organ donor cards as part of an aggressive effort to increase the number of donations, officials said yesterday.
The idea is to give transplant coordinators a stronger case for proceeding with donation, regardless of a family's OK, by making the donor cards legal documents that carry more weight than a driver's license or unofficial donor card.
It's one element of a sweeping plan that Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson plans to unveil later this month. Since taking office, Thompson has talked regularly about organ donation, prodding his audiences to sign donor cards.
"It's odd to me that in America, this most compassionate country in the world, we have so many people that are dying because of lack of organs," he told reporters last week.
More than 75,600 patients are waiting for organs, and more than 6,000 of them die each year.
The Thompson initiative is likely to involve several elements, including a media campaign and efforts to work closely with businesses and states to promote donation. It also will include an effort to encourage and support increasingly popular living organ donations.
And President Bush's budget, being sent to Congress next week, will include an additional $5 million for organ donation and transplant activities, an increase of 33 percent.
