Organ Transplantation and Donation

At any given day, there can be thousands of people on the waiting list for an new organ.  One person’s donation can save the lives of 25 others who are waiting for organ and tissue donation.   In the state of Illinois, a new law, effective Jan. 1, 2006, created a new Organ/Tissue Donor Registry making a person’s wishes to be a donor legally binding.   Additional witnesses or family consent is no longer required for donation to occur.  To become an organ donor in the state of Illinois, please register at www.LifeGoesOn.com or call 1-800-210-2106.

Organ Waiting List

The organ waiting list is part of a nationwide computerized network called UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing).  All transplant centers in the United States belong to UNOS.  UNOS is responsible for continuously updating the list, in order to provide accurate transplantation and donation information to patients and transplant programs.  The federal government supervises UNOS to ensure patients throughout the country receive healthy organs.

Our transplant team is available 24/7 to respond to calls regarding a possible organ donor. When an organ becomes available, our team is prepared to quickly examine and pick up the organ. The patient is then called to come to the hospital for the procedure.  The wait for cadaver transplantation will depend on how sick you are, with priority given to the sickest patients.