Every day, an average of 79 people receive organ transplants while 22 die waiting for the organ they never got, according to organdonor.gov.

Last month, Illinois’ organ and tissue donor registry reached 6 million, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced via news release Tuesday.

“Our mission is to sign up everyone who is eligible in order to give others a second chance at life and end the waiting for the approximately 5,000 people statewide,” White said in the release.

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In April — National Donate Life Month — White attended a number of events to raise public awareness about donation need and encouraged more residents to become donors.

“Our efforts last month had an impact on the increase in registration,” White said. “I think our public awareness campaign, whether it was visiting our facilities, television commercials or attending events in the community, motivated people to register. It takes less than a minute to register and one person can improve the quality of life for up to 25 people.”

Illinois residents who are interested in becoming donors can register with the Secretary of State Organ/Tissue Donor Program at LifeGoesOn.com, 1-800-210-2106 or by visiting their local Driver Services facility.

The Daily Egyptian’s campus desk can be reached at 618-536-3325 or [email protected].