During a special ceremony outside OSF Sacred Heart Medical Center Thursday morning, the “Gift of Hope” flag was raised to mark National Donate Life Month. Gift of Hope’s Alexis Plumb, who works with OSF and other medical entities to promote organ and tissue donation, says the battle is always ongoing to get donated organs to those who need them.
AUDIO: Right now in the United States there are over 100,000 people who are on the National Waiting List for a life-saving organ transplant. So the need is really great. So we continue to share the message of how important it is to register your wishes if you want to be an organ and tissue donor, and to share those wishes with your loved ones so they know what you would want if you were in a position to help others.
While a few decades back they had you sign the back of your driver’s license along with two witnesses, now they put a special donor logo that is actually part of your license right on the front. All you have to do is check the box that you want to be a donor when you’re at the driver’s license facility. And as Plumb points out, there are other ways, with modern technology, to sign up as well.
AUDIO: Anyone can sign online. And you can go to giftofhope.org to register, and you can also go to the OSF website (https://www.osfhealthcare.org/blog/exploring-organ-donation/) and they have links there to help. It would be really simple; easy to go ahead and register your wishes. And you can be registered nationally through those links.
While waiting for the raising of the Gift of Hope flag, Gift of Hope’s Alexis Plumb shared some donation information with Neuhoff Media.
Remember that your family incurs no cost for donation when you become a donor, and that the state registry is confidential. All you need is to have your information registered.
