SPRINGFIELD, ILL. (AP) -- Organ and tissue donation has increased by 20 percent in Illinois since the state's first-person donor registry became law in 2006.
The Secretary of State's office says that makes Illinois' donor registry the largest in the country.
Illinois first-person consent law mean's a persons decision to donate organs is legally binding. Donation decisions previously had been up to a deceased person's next-of-kin.
Officials say almost 6 million people have registered in either the first-person consent donor registry or its predecessor.
Gift of Hope, which coordinates the organ- and tissue-recovery process, says 59 out of 268 organ donors came from the first-person consent registry last year.
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