EEH joins HRSA, Gift of Hope in organ donor registration campaign

Edward-Elmhurst Health has joined the 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 and tissue donation and increase donor registration. Nationwide more than 1,700 hospitals and healthcare organizations participate in this campaign each year.

While 40,000 transplants were performed last year, there are nearly 106,000 people in the U.S. who are waiting for an organ transplant. While 90% of U.S. adults support organ donation, only 60% are registered as donors.

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 630,000 donor registrations.

Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network is a not-for-profit 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.