Horizon Health to Honor Organ Donors & Recipients

One organ donor can save as many as eight lives and improve the lives of up to 75 more through tissue donation.

In recognition of National Donate Life Month, Horizon Health invites the public to attend a tribute honoring the lives of those who have donated and/or received organs, tissue, or blood, as well as those who are awaiting a donation on the transplant list.

The event will take place Wednesday, April 30, at 10 am (CDT), at the Horizon Health main campus, 721 E. Court Street, in Paris. Participants should meet at the Paris Clinic West parking lot by the flagpole. Anyone who wishes to join Horizon Health staff in forming a human tunnel leading to the flagpole is asked to arrive 15 minutes early, or 9:45 am (CDT). The event will take place rain or shine.

Other Horizon Health locations will observe the event remotely and post photos and/or videos on the organization's social media channels.

At the main campus in Paris, Horizon Health will raise the Gift of Hope flag. Horizon Health will unveil its new “Code Hero” initiative that recognizes local patients and families who have agreed to be an organ/tissue donor. Gift of Hope representatives and local donors and/or recipients will be present to share their stories. Gift of Hope will be onsite to sign up donors who want to join its registry.

“Donors deserve the highest praise possible for their selfless acts of extreme generosity,” said Rachel Kelley, Horizon Health vice president of nursing & chief nursing officer. “They truly prioritize others without expecting any reward or recognition in return. We want to recognize them year-round, not just during this special observation month.”

About Gift of Hope

The Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network is a nonprofit organ procurement organization that coordinates organ and tissue donation and services to families of donors in the northern three-quarters of Illinois and northwest Indiana. This organization works with more than 180 hospitals, the eye banks serving our regions, transplant centers, and thousands of forensic and professional partners, in our federally designated donation service area to coordinate organ, eye, and tissue donation.

Since its inception in 1986, Gift of Hope has helped save more than 29,000 lives through organ donation and has helped hundreds of thousands of patients receive the donated tissue they need to see, walk, heal, and live a pain-free life or life of mobility again.