Media Contact
Yuliya Ryvkina
yryvkina@giftofhope.org
ITASCA, Ill. (January 23, 2023)—Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network announced record levels of life-saving organ donation in Illinois and northwest Indiana for a third consecutive year.
In 2022, 526 individuals and their families made possible 1,418 life-saving organ transplants. This places Gift of Hope and the region it has served since 1987 among the nation’s top three organ procurement organizations to achieve this milestone.
In addition, 1,869 individuals donated bone, skin and other tissue to save or heal patients with severe burns in need of skin grafts and restore mobility and health for patients suffering from torn ligaments and tendons, circulatory conditions or diseases requiring bone grafts.
Gift of Hope and its work with donors, their families, hospitals, coroners, funeral directors and others involved with successful organ and tissue donation, contributed to record donation and transplants across the country in 2022. The United Network for Organ Sharing announced that more than 42,800 organ transplants took place for the first time. This included record-setting levels of kidney, liver, heart and lung transplants, and new levels of donation that made it possible.
“I am very grateful to the 526 organ donors and their families, and the tissue donors and their families we worked with in 2022. Through their compassion in saying ‘yes’ to donation, and the commitment of hospitals and all our partners who support donation, we continue fulfilling our mission to save and enhance the lives of as many people as possible, and honor the decisions of those who choose to be donors,” said Harry Wilkins, MD, Gift of Hope President/CEO.
One person can save up to nine lives as an organ donor, and save or enhance the lives of more than 25 people as a tissue donor.
As the non-profit organ procurement organization that coordinates organ and tissue donation in the northern two-thirds of Illinois and Lake County, Ind., Gift of Hope is responsible for coordinating donation when an individual dies and is medically eligible. This includes carrying out the individual’s registered decision to be a donor, or speaking with the family about the opportunity if the decision was left to them. In all cases, specially trained Gift of Hope staff work closely with families throughout and after donation for as long as families seek the support.
To learn more about donation and offer hope to people in need of transplants, visit www.giftofhope.org and join the Illinois Organ/Tissue Donor Registry or Donate Life Indiana registry. A link is provided for residents of other states to locate the donor registry where they live.
About Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network
Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network is the not-for-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) that coordinates organ and tissue donation and provides public education on donation in Illinois and northwest Indiana. As one of 56 OPOs that make up the nation’s organ donation system, Gift of Hope works with 180 hospitals and serves 12 million people in its donation service area. Since 1986, its work has saved the lives of more than 23,000 organ transplant recipients and improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of tissue transplant recipients. For more information, visit www.giftofhope.org.
