Top Cop Eddie Johnson on Organ Donation, Chicago Violence


The odds are not in your favor if you are in need of an organ transplant.

Last year, 113,379 Americans needed lifesaving transplants and nearly 6,000 people died waiting for one. Illinois has the 10th longest waitlist for organs with about 15% of people waiting five years or longer, according to a new study.

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Less than 1% of potential donors actually donated their organs in 2018.

But Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has a different – and successful – transplant story.

In 2017, Johnson was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis, an acute inflammation of the kidney. His son Daniel, a teacher at the time, was a match. And on Aug. 30, 2017, Daniel, then 25 years old, donated a kidney to his father. Shortly after the surgery, Daniel followed in the footsteps of his father and stepmother to become a Chicago police officer.

The National Kidney Foundation of Illinois is honoring the pair in October at its Gift of Life Gala.

Johnson and his son join “Chicago Tonight” to talk about the “gift of life” and issues facing the Chicago Police Department. Eddie Johnson has led the department since 2016; Daniel Johnson works in the department’s Public Transportation Section.


Related stories:

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Police: Chicago Shootings Hit 4-Year Low Through First Half of 2019

Chicago’s Top Cop Eddie Johnson on Smollett, Mayor-Elect Lightfoot


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