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91_HR0203
LRB9106497KBkbA
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to acknowledge National Donors Week,
4 April 19-23, 1999; in remembering this important week, we
5 also want to acknowledge Little Company of Mary Hospital in
6 Evergreen Park, the site of the first kidney transplant in
7 the nation, on June 17, 1950; and
8 WHEREAS, Mrs. Howard Tucker, a 44-year old woman
9 originally from Jasper, Indiana, was the patient; she had
10 moved to Chicago to be closer to the medical attention she
11 needed; members of her family had died from polycystic kidney
12 disease; and
13 WHEREAS, The kidney came from a woman the same age,
14 physical size, and blood type as Mrs. Tucker; forty-five
15 minutes after the death of the donor, the operation began;
16 under the watchful eyes of visiting surgeons and doctors, Dr.
17 Richard Lawler went on to complete the transplant; Mrs.
18 Tucker went on to enjoy life for five more years, passing
19 away on April 30, 1955; and
20 WHEREAS, The surgical team consisted of Dr. Richard
21 Lawler, Dr. Raymond Murphy, and Dr. James West; the
22 superintendent of the hospital was Mother Mary Dunston
23 Kelleher, who gave her permission for the surgery to
24 commence; and
25 WHEREAS, This was the only transplant surgery ever
26 performed at Little Company of Mary Hospital; and
27 WHEREAS, The hospital is supervised today by Sister
28 Kathleen McIntyre; the sisters of the Congregation of Little
29 Company of Mary continue to operate the hospital; and
30 WHEREAS, As a result of this successful operation, today
31 many people's lives have been spared thanks to transplant
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1 surgeries; therefore, be it
2 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
4 we thank the staff and administration of Little Company of
5 Mary Hospital for making National Donors Week possible;
6 through their innovation in completing the first kidney
7 transplant, they have opened the doors for changing lives;
8 and be it further
9 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10 presented to the Little Company of Mary Hospital.