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Join Secretary of State Jesse White for a virtual public awareness campaign to inform Illinoisans about the need for more minority organ donors.

JOIN THE ORGAN/TISSUE DONOR REGISTRY TODAYLifeGoesOn.com

During the month of August, we encourage minorities to register as organ/tissue donors in Illinois. Minorities wait in large numbers for transplants, but hesitate to register as donors.

To help answer your questions about donation and encourage you to register your donor decision, we have designed the following presentation as an educational tool to help you learn about the lifesaving benefits of organ donation.

Nationally, 112,000 people are waiting for lifesaving transplants and 4,000 are in Illinois.

An average of 22 people die every day waiting.

Every 10 minutes a new person is added to the national transplant waiting list.

One donor can save or enhance 25 lives.

Source: Donate Life America

Why join the Illinois Donor Registry?

In Illinois, approximately 4,000 people wait for transplants. Many are minorities.

1,490 are African American (37 percent)1,450 are White (36 percent)

830 are Hispanic (20 percent)250 are Asian American (0.6 percent)

Of those waiting for a kidney:1,370 are African American (40 percent)1,070 are White (31 percent)

690 are Hispanic (20 percent)225 are Asian (less than 1 percent)

“Thanks for joining!”

Source: Health Resources and Services Administration’s Organ Transplantation and Procurement Network (OPTN)

Thanks to the lifesaving gifts from organ donors and their families, the number of donors and transplants performed in the U.S. last year reached an all-time high.

In Illinois last year:

500 deceased donors (up from 486 in 2018)60 percent White24 percent African American3 percent Hispanic1 percent Asian

More transplants than ever


What Can You Donate?

Organs TissuesHeart CorneasLungs (2) BonesKidneys (2) VeinsLiver (you can divide it) SkinSmall Intestines Ligaments/TendonsPancreas

(You can save 8 (You can helpor more people with improve life for dozens organs.) of people with tissues.)

Organ Donation and African Americans

African Americans are the largest minority in need of organ transplants in the U.S.; however, African Americans make up just 13 percent of the general population.

African Americans tend to experience high blood pressure and diabetes more often than the white population. These conditions are known to put African Americans at risk for organ failure. And even though different ethnicities can donate to each other, sometimes a better match can be found within one’s own ethnicity for certain conditions and diseases. Sickle cell anemia, a condition experienced by 8 percent of African Americans, can lead to organ (kidney) damage.

While about 30 percent of total candidates waiting for transplants are African American, just 13 percent of organ donors last year were African American.

Sources: Health Resources and Services Administration’s Organ Transplantation and Procurement Network (OPTN), Johns Hopkins Medicine, American Society of Hematologists

Organ All Candidates

# of AfricanAmerican

Candidates

African American % of All

Candidates

# of White Candidates

White % of All Candidates

All Organs

112,258 32,260 28.7 45,441 40.5

Kidney 94,458 30,029 31.8 33,680 35.7

Liver 12,647 932 7.4 8,497 67.2

Heart 3,686 1,034 28.1 2,140 58.1

Lung 1,309 179 13.7 918 70.1

U.S. Transplant Waiting ListAfrican American Candidates


Organ Donation and Hispanic Americans

Hispanic Americans have high rates of heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. Mexican Americans, in particular, suffer disproportionately from obesity, which contributes to health conditions which can cause organ failure. Hispanics also suffer from chronic liver disease at much higher rates than whites. Language barriers also negatively impact patient access to lifesaving health information and health services.

While Hispanics make up less than 20 percent of the national population, they represented 20 percent of total candidates waiting and comprised 15 percent of total donors last year.


Organ All Candidates # of Hispanic Candidates

Hispanic % of All Candidates


White % of All

Candidates

All Organs 112,258 22,900 20.4 45,441 40.5

Kidney 94,458 20,113 21.3 33,680 35.7

Liver 12,647 2,340 18.5 8,497 67.2

Heart 3,686 374 10.1 2,140 58.1

Lung 1,309 159 12.1 918 70.1

U.S. Transplant Waiting ListHispanic Candidates


Organ Donation and American Indians/Alaska Natives

Although American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) account for just 1 percent of patients on the organ transplant waiting list, they suffer from disproportionately high rates of diabetes and heart-related diseases.

Alcoholism is also prevalent among AI/AN, and they can experience higher rates of liver disease including cirrhosis. These conditions are known to put patients at risk for organ failure.

American Indians/Alaska Natives make up just 1 percent of the national population. Last year they comprised less than 1 percent of donors.



# of AI/AN Candidates

AI/AN % of all Candidates


White % of all Candidates

All Organs 112,258 1,001 0.9 45,441 40.5

Kidney 94,458 880 0.9 33,680 35.7

Liver 12,647 104 0.8 8,497 67.2

Heart 3,686 11 0.3 2,140 58.1

Lung 1,309 10 0.8 918 70.1

U.S. Transplant Waiting ListAmerican Indian/Alaska Native Candidates


Diabetes and heart disease are less common among Asian Americans than other minority groups, but Asians suffer more from liver diseases and hepatitis, putting them at risk for liver damage. Asian Americans make up about 6 percent of the national population.

While 8 percent of total candidates currently waiting for transplants are Asian, they comprised just 3 percent of organ donors last year.

Like all minorities waiting, Asians are most in need of a kidney transplant.

Organ Donation and Asian Americans


U.S. Transplant Waiting ListAsian American Candidates


# of Asian Candidates

Asian % of All Candidates


White % of All Candidates

All Organs 112,258 9,329 8.3 45,441 40.5

Kidney 94,458 8,563 9.1 33,680 35.7

Liver 12,647 668 5.3 8,497 67.2

Heart 3,686 85 2.3 2,140 58.1

Lung 1,309 39 3.0 918 70.1


‘DONOR’ on the front of a valid Illinois driver’s license or state ID card means consent for organ/tissue donation.

Family consent is required only for individuals under age 18 and for those not on the Illinois Donor Registry.

You can register to be a donor at age 16 with family consent at time of death.

The ‘DONOR’ symbol does not include whole body donation.

A person’s ability to be a donoris determined at time of death.

Just 2 percent of deaths that occur each year presentthe right circumstances for organ donation to be an option.

That is why it is important to register yourdonor decision and let your family know. Being a donor is a rare and unique opportunity.

Source: University of Pennsylvania, Transplant Medicine

The donor registry gives families a way to know – and therefore honor – their loved one’s donor decision.

If the deceased is a registered donor, their decision relieves the family from having to make that decision themselves at a difficult time.

Ninety-five percent of Americans believe donation is the right thing to do; however, less than 60 percent areregistered.

Source: Donate Life America

MYTHIf I am injured and taken to a hospital, doctors won’t try and save my life if

they know I am a donor.Donation becomes an option ONLY AFTER brain death is declared. Trauma and emergency room doctors will always try to save every life. That is their only job. Emergency department and transplant doctors are completely separate teams.

MYTHI’m sure my religion does not support donation.All major eastern and western religions support donation. They all allow donation to save lives. And for some, it is an obligation to alleviate human suffering. Our religious brochure addresses specific religions and their views on donation.

Don’t believe the myths…MYTHMy family will be charged for the removal of my organs.There is no change to the donor’s family for removal of their loved one’s organs. Organs are simply gifts from the donor to those most in need.

MYTHI have to choose cremation if I am a donor.The organ recovery process is a respectful surgical procedure with the body very carefully restored afterward and quickly returned to the family. There are no visible signs of donation.

MYTHI’m sure I’m too old to be a donor.There is NO AGE LIMIT to being a donor. Many older Americans are very successful tissue donors if they can’t donate organs. Corneas, bones, skin, veins and soft tissues can be donated by older persons, vastly improving the quality of life for many.

Transplant recipients are selected by medical criteria:

- critical need - tissue type- geographic region - body size- blood type - time spent on the waiting list

How rich or famous someone is has no bearing at all on who gets a transplant. Everyone is of equal importance on the transplant waiting list. (The late Walter Payton, former Chicago Bears running back, needed a liver transplant but did not receive it in time. He waited with everyone else. His fame did not help him.)

Doctors cannot look up anyone on the donor registry—they do not have access to this information.

} Many recipients lead a normal life.

} Immunosuppressant drugs help prevent transplant rejection by the body.

} Post-transplant check-ups are required to keep transplanted organs healthy.

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