CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- It's National Minority Donor Awareness Week and Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is promoting organ/tissue donation.
"Although Illinois has one of the largest donor registries with 6.7 million individuals, we still struggle. About 300 Illinoisians die each year, because organs don't arrive in a timely manner," White said.
According to the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network, people of color comprise 59 percent of the waiting list for organ transplants nationally; however, this year they account for only 33 percent of those who donated organs.
"It is something of a challenge, I know patients are expiring and yet organs that could've been used to save their lives, have not made it to that segment of the equation. God knows that we can do a better job," said Jack Lynch, Gift of Hope.
Secretary of State Jesse White hosted an event Tuesday to promote organ/tissue donation for multicultural communities, as part of the National Minority Donor Awareness Week.
"My daughter Nikki was only 18-years old when she died," said Vicky Walker. "She drown in a backyard pool, but we donated five of her organs. She saved five lives, one being my best friend's sister Tanisha. She was a 100 percent match. She also saved the life of Zach, my husband's friend. He received her right kidney. That was also a 100 percent match."
Walker said her daughter told her when she was 16 that if anything every happened to her, she'd want to be an organ donor.
On Jan. 1, 2018, a new law, spearheaded by Secretary of State Jesse White, went into effect allowing 16- and 17-year olds to register to become organ/tissue donors. To date, more than 70,000 teens have registered.
The "Wave Away the Waiting" event encouraged people to register to become an organ/tissue donor. In Illinois, 6.7 million people are registered as organ/tissue donors, yet there are approximately 4,700 people waiting for transplants.
Illinoisans can register as an organ donor with the Secretary of State's Organ/Tissue Donor Registry online at LifeGoesOn.com, by calling 1-800-210-2106, or by visiting their local Driver Servives facility (DMV).
