Above / During the Naperville City Council meeting on April 19, Councilwoman Patty Gustin read a Mayoral Proclamation recognizing April 19, 2022, as “Edward-Elmhurst Health Donor Recognition Day in the City of Naperville.” Afterward, Gustin welcomed Dr. Harry Wilkins, President/CEO of Gift of Hope, as well as Dr. Bob Payton, Chief Medical Officer, and Trish Fairbanks, Chief Nursing Officer, from Edward Hospital, to explain how to become an organ donor through the registration campaign at registerme.org/campaign/eehealth2022. (PN Photo)
In early April, Edward-Elmhurst Health and the Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network released news to invite the community to participate in the annual Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Organ Donor Registration Campaign.
The purpose of this initiative, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), in collaboration with Gift of Hope, is to expand awareness about the benefits of organ, eye and tissue donation and increase donor registration. More than 1,700 hospitals and healthcare organizations participate in this program nationwide.
More than 106,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for an organ transplant. While 95% of U.S. adults support organ donation, only 58% are registered as donors. Organ, eye and tissue donation benefits people of all ages, including the very young and very old. Only 1% of deaths occur in a way that allows donation to take place, so the more donors who are registered the greater the opportunity to help others.
By becoming a registered organ and tissue donor, people could someday:
- Save up to eight lives through organ donation
- Restore sight in up to two people through eye donation
- Heal more than 75 people through tissue donation
Since the program’s inception in 2011, the campaign has generated more than 575,000 donor registrations. Organ, eye and tissue donation offers life and hope to those in need and their loved ones. Join Edward-Elmhurst Health and Gift of Hope in this effort and “say, yes” to becoming a registered organ and tissue donor today. It’s easy. Register at registerme.org/campaign/eehealth2022.
During the City Council presentation, Trish Fairbanks, Chief Nursing Officer at Edward, mentioned “living donors,” saying that the organ most commonly given by a living donor is the kidney.
Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network is a nonprofit organization that coordinates organ and tissue donation and provides public education on donation in Illinois and northwest Indiana. To learn more about organ and tissue donation, visit GiftofHope.org.
News submitted by Janet Hosey, Content Specialist, for Edward-Elmhurst Health.
