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Organ Donation Information
Transplantation Services

More than 84,000 people in the United States, including more than 4,500 men, women and children in Illinois, are waiting for a healthy organ to replace a failing kidney, heart, lung, liver, small intestine or pancreas. The need is critical, and virtually anyone is a potential donor.

Anyone interested in learning about organ donation should start by contacting the Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network at (888) 307-DON8 or (888) 307-3668 or by visiting the Web site at www.giftofhope.org. Gift of Hope sponsors a 24-hour donor hotline at (800) 545-GIFT or (800) 545-4438.

Gift of Hope is a not-for-profit organ procurement organization based in Elmhurst. Established in 1986, Gift of Hope is one of 59 organizations of its kind in the United States and is responsible for the recovery of organs and tissues for transplantation as well as professional and public education efforts for the northern three-fourths of Illinois and northwest Indiana.

Gift of Hope works with other organizations of its kind through the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the federally mandated registration center for organ transplant candidates in the United States. UNOS' computer-based tracking system helps match donated organs with patients in need, in accordance with strict federal guidelines intended to ensure fair distribution.

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