Stats

Trends & The Waiting List

Thousands of people are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Registering to become an organ and tissue donor takes just minutes and can help those in need. Learn more about the stats regarding organ and tissue donation in Illinois and Indiana.

As of December 2021, more than 100,000 people in the United States are on the waiting list hoping that organs will become available to save their lives. Nearly 4,000 of those people are in Illinois and more than 1,000 are in northwest Indiana.

The more people like you who register as donors and say "yes" to donation, the more lives can be saved. Visit https://www.giftofhope.org/trends-waiting-lists/ to learn how the need changes each day.

Know the facts about donation.

*Age, race, health and social status do not affect your ability to become a donor. In some cases, being able to match the ethnicity of the donor and the recipient can improve the success rate of the transplant. A diverse pool of donors provides better possible outcomes for those in need.

*Strict rules are followed to be sure donated organs and tissues are distributed according to unbiased factors including compatibility, need and location.

*Being a registered donor is never a factor in a person’s medical care. In most cases, emergency medical personal have no idea if patients are registered to be organ and tissue donors. Medical staff always take every possible step to save lives. It is not until all lifesaving measures have been taken and a person is determined to be unable to be revived that a different medical team is contacted to assess the possibility of donating tissues or organs.

*The act of donation is viewed as generous and compassionate by most major religions. To learn more about the religious views from different faiths, visit https://donatelife.gov.au/sites/default/files/Religion_facts.pdf.

*Being a donor will not incur any cost for you or your family. The expenses for necessary care are borne by the recipient’s insurance.

*Being an organ donor does not affect the possibility of having an open casket for a funeral. Funeral arrangements will not be affected by organ donation.

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