Illinois secretary of state celebrates National Donate Life Month

SPRINGFIELD (WGEM) – April is National Donate Life Month. That is why Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias joined organ recipients and family members of donors to call on everyone to sign up to donate life.

Giannoulias, who oversees Illinois’ organ and tissue donor registry as part of his duties as secretary of state, said 6 million Illinoisans are signed up to be organ donors.

“We must and we can do better,” he said. “We have to raise awareness. This is our chance to literally save lives.”

There are several places people can sign up including online, when they get their Illinois driver’s license and, a recent addition, applying for a hunting license in the state.

According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, an organ donor can save eight lives and enhance up to 75.

Giannoulias said there are currently nearly 4,000 Illinoisans awaiting an organ transplant. Almost 300 of them die waiting annually.

Nikki Love is one of the lucky ones. In 2015, she got a new kidney and pancreas.

“I’m here today because someone said yes,” she said. “Someone said yes, I will give organs, tissues, whatever is need if anything were to happen to them so I’m just so grateful and thankful that they said yes.”

Giannoulias said people like Love are why he takes overseeing the state’s organ and tissue donor registry so seriously.

“We spend an enormous amount, our team does, of talking to folks, going to schools, doing everything we can. We’re going to continue to do it, we’re going to aggressively do it and it’s a team effort,” he said.

“We have to opportunity to save lives, to save families, so anything and everything we can do to continue to raise awareness, we will continue to do,” Giannoulias said.

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