Organ Donation and Transplant Headlines

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More people donating organs in Illinois
Program participation up 20 percent since law enacted

"Illinois’ first-person consent law provides that a person’s decision to donate his or her organs is legally binding. Previously, no matter what the deceased person had intended, the donation decision was up to the person’s family, and many bereaved survivors didn’t follow through on donation pledges"

From The State Journal Register in Illinois - Derek Lowry lived his life striving to be a hero in somebody’s eyes. The 23-year-old veteran from Effingham County died Oct. 2 from injuries sustained in a car accident the previous week. Three weeks prior to that, he decided to update his driver’s license information online and chose to become a registered donor through Illinois’ first-person consent donor registry. (for more info about Illinois' program and links to register on-line click here).

Lowry joined more than three million other state residents who signed up for the first-person donor registry. Since it became law in 2006, the registry has increased organ and tissue donation by 20 percent. Now Illinois has the largest donor registry in the United States. Almost 6 million people have registered in either the first-person consent donor registry or its predecessor.

Lowry’s mother, Carolyn Mathewson, said that her son’s decision comforts her.

“It’s actually the only thing that helps me get through this because my son didn’t die for nothing. In his death, there was so much positive that happened,” Mathewson said. “When I get really sad, I realize that on the other side of this story, there is a mother somewhere who is extremely happy.”

Illinois’ first-person consent law provides that a person’s decision to donate his or her organs is legally binding. Previously, no matter what the deceased person had intended, the donation decision was up to the person’s family, and many bereaved survivors didn’t follow through on donation pledges. Read the full story.

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