Take a close look at the flagpole at Springfield Memorial Hospital.  The purple Gift of Hope flag was raised on Tuesday by heart recipient Clay Yates to commemorate National Donate Life Month, but it also flies when an organ is donated.  Nearly 4,000 Illinoisans are currently waiting for an organ transplant, and a new person joins the national transplant list every nine minutes.  Yates, who received his heart in 2019, said being an organ donor can “give someone a second chance at life.”

Samantha Reed with the kidney transplant program at Springfield Memorial said if they have a patient that passes away, the hospital partners with Gift of Hope to provide that family the option of their loved one becoming an organ donor.  Together, they arrange for the procurement of the organ so that it can be given to someone waiting on the transplant list.  Reed said the flag is then raised in that donor’s honor to recognize them for their “incredible gift.”

Terri Cagle, a liaison for Gift of Hope, said the flag will fly for three days, which is about the length of a typical organ donation process.  She says they can also arrange honor walks at the hospital for donors.