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Thompson said he asked the surgeon what he could do as governor, and that was the beginning of his interest in promoting organ donation awareness. As governor, he signed a law requiring two hours of organ donation education during driver education, the first law of its type in the country, Thompson said.
Thompson spoke Thursday to the downtown Rotary Club of La Crosse about Workplace Partnership for Life, a program of organ donation awareness in the workplace. He initiated the program as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary.
He said the program is designed to educate employees about organ and tissue donation, asking them to make a decision and inform their families.
Thompson said the initiative started in the auto industry and has since been extended to 2,000 businesses throughout the country.
“We want every employee to get this information,” he said. “The workplace will make a difference.”
As health secretary, Thompson set a goal to increase organ donation rates to 75 percent of eligible donors at the nation’s 200 largest hospitals.
“But more people today are looking for organs,” he said.
Thompson said 97,000 Americans are waiting for an organ, and 19 die each day waiting. In Wisconsin, 1,500 people are waiting for organs, 1,000 of them need kidneys.
“If the eyes had a vote, they would vote to continue seeing in someone else,” Thompson said. “If the heart had a vote, it would vote to keep on beating in someone else’s body. If the kidneys and liver had a vote, they’d vote to keep on functioning so another person could enjoy Wisconsin beer and brats.”
Half of all organs are lost because people sign up to be a donor, but they didn’t talk to their loved ones, so the organs are wasted, Thompson said.
“What’s better than saying that you helped someone live?” he said.
Thompson said La Crosse County is more successful than most places in the country, with 60 percent of the eligible donors signed up as organ donors.
How to help
What to do to make sure your organs are donated:
Thompson on ...
Wisconsin voters approving a constitutional change that will limit a governor’s power to rewrite an approved budget: “I don’t think a governor should be able to increase spending on his or her own.”
His brother, Ed, winning election for Tomah mayor: “I’m happy for Eddy. He did a good job before. I’m very proud of him.”
State smoke-free workplace: “I think tobacco should be regulated ... a baby aspirin is regulated by the FDA, but nicotine is not regulated ... I do favor a smoke-free workplace law.”
On health care reform: “It is now the perfect storm with Medicare going broke. Health care is a very important issue, and the government has to deal with Medicare, the high cost of health care and shortage of personnel ... 2009 will be the biggest transformation of health care that we have seen since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s.”
On Republican presidential candidate John McCain: “He by far is the best candidate in the race, and it doesn’t matter if Clinton or Obama is the Democrat nominee.”
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at (608) 791-8227.
