"Organ Donor" Title May Not Be Just For Show For Long

By Sam Bakken in News on Jan 5, 2005 8:54PM

A legislative task force created last May to "examine Illinois statutes and programs regarding organ donation" recommended yesterday that the Illinois legislature pass a "first-person consent" law making the signature on the back of your driver's license "complete legal authorization" for organ donation. Currently in Illinois, doctors must receive authorization from the deceased's family.

Gift of Hope, an organ procurement organization for transplant patients in northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, reports that between May 2002 and April 2004, 20 percent of declared organ donator's families did not authorize a transplant. The law, which may be discussed when the Assembly is back in session this coming Monday, would lift the next-of-kin authorization requirement.

With more than 6 million names registered, Illinois has one of the largest organ donor pools in the nation. A Gift of Hope community affairs director told the Sun-Times that the law could possibly provide up to 100 more organs each year. Currently 4,664 people are on Gift of Hope's waiting list for organs. Apparently about 2 percent of people who die have harvestable organs and each donor provides about 3.2 organs.

If passed, Illinois will be the 42nd state in the nation to have a "first-person consent" law and Chicagoist can't see any reason not to pass one. If a donor says they want to donate organs, their organs should be donated. Grieving families probably aren't in the right state of mind to make the right decision. While the effect of the laws in other states isn't huge, saving two more lives each year is worth it. So if you're a donor, at least until the law is passed, be sure to let your family know that you are one and want your organs donated. If you're not a donor, register here. After all, unless you're a Gypsy, Jehovah's Witness or a follower of Shinto, ghost-daddy-in-the-sky doesn't mind.