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Donate Life America 2013 National Donor Designation Report Released

Number of Registered Organ, Eye and Tissue Donors Continues to Rise Steadily

RICHMONDJune 27, 2013 – Donate Life America unveiled its sixth annual National Donor Designation Report Card during the organization’s annual meeting, held in Indianapolis, Indiana, this year. The document reports 109 million people had enrolled in state donor registries by the end of 2012. The public can add to that number and help save the lives of the more than 120,000 men, women and children awaiting organ transplants by designating a donation decision at www.donatelife.net.

This year’s Report Card puts specific emphasis on the efforts of Donate Life America and its constituents to reach the 18-24 year old demographic, who say they have not registered because they “have not heard about it” or “simply have not gotten around to it.”  Though it is extremely important to educate all demographics, the 18-24 is least likely to register, followed closely by people 65 and older, who often erroneously believe they are too old to be organ, eye and tissue donors.

Nationwide, 45 percent of individuals age 18 and older have registered to be organ, eye and tissue donors. Montana and Alaska top the state list with 82 percent and 80 percent respectively, followed by Washington with 78 percent.

The document also reports that of all recovered donors in the United Sates in 2012, 40 percent of organ, 48 percent of eye and 45 percent of tissue donors, were authorized through the state donor registry.  These numbers have continued to rise since Donate Life America began collecting this data in 2007.

“Eighteen people die each day due to a lack of available organs for transplant and the number of people on the national organ transplant waiting list continues to rise, “ said David Fleming, President and CEO of Donate Life America.  “The only way to give greater hope to all of the individuals waiting is for all who have not year registered to take the time to do it today.”

View full report card

High concentration of Azithromycin in infected tissues is also caused by the fact that phagocytes and macrophages transport it to the site of infection and release in the area of inflammation. Azithromycin is prescribed in case of illness or injury at the time.

OneLegacy Multicultural Radio Campaign Promotes Organ, Eye & Tissue Donation in Greater Los Angeles Area

LOS ANGELES, Calif., July 16, 2013 OneLegacy, the non-profit, federally designated organ, eye and tissue recovery organization serving the seven-county greater Los Angeles area, announced today the launch of its multicultural radio campaign to inspire and educate residents throughout the greater Los Angeles area to register as organ, eye and tissue donors.

The radio campaign airs on English- and Spanish-language stations in the Los Angeles, Orange County, and Riverside-San Bernardino radio markets for nine weeks between July 15 and Sept. 23. The campaign extends to Asian communities in August, reaching communities that speak Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Tagalog.

“OneLegacy is proud to reignite the relationships we long ago forged with some of the region’s most respected media companies,” said Tom Mone, CEO and executive vice president of OneLegacy. “This campaign targets communities where donor designation rates are among the lowest in the state. It is also designed to inspire people to choose donation when a family member has not chosen to legally document their wish to donate.”

In Los Angeles and Orange County, the spots will air on seven English-language stations: 104.3MYfm, KOST 103.5 FM, KIIS FM 102.7, HOT 105.5, POWER 106 FM, Go Country 105.1 FM, and JACK FM 93.1, as well as the Pandora internet radio service. The Spanish-language spots will air on three Univision stations: LA101.9 FM, KLVE 107.5 FM, and Recuerdo 103.9 AM.

In the Riverside-San Bernardino market, the spots will air on four English-language stations: KOLA 99.9, KFROG 95.1 FM, 99.1 KGGI, and KCAL 96.7, and two Spanish-language stations, José 97.5 FM and QueBuena 96.1 FM, as well as Pandora in both English and Spanish internet streaming.

The 30-second spots were developed by The Sandbox Team Plus, LLC following English- and Spanish-language focus groups including OneLegacy staff, volunteers and the general public.

The focus groups reported that movies and media significantly influence the public’s perception of donation, originating and perpetuating several widely held misconceptions about organ and tissue donation. (Chief among these is the mistaken belief that being a registered donor could result in receiving poor medical care in case of an accident; in fact, donor status has no bearing whatsoever on lifesaving medical treatment.) While the original intent of the campaign was to dispel these kinds of misconceptions, the research phase made it clear that the public preferred to research the topic on its own or with family members rather than be confronted with the myth directly. Latino and African American focus group participants were overwhelmingly in favor of involving their families in their decision-making.

When information and statistics about the benefits of donation were presented, focus group respondents were motivated to take action toward having a conversation with their family members and/or registering, and they emphasized that hearing from those who have lived through the experience was more likely to inspire them. Respondents especially liked hearing from people of different ages and ethnicities, which they perceived as inclusive and effective.

The resulting radio spots incorporate brief but emotive testimonials that dramatize the pride that families feel for their loved ones choosing to be organ donors and the priceless moments they make possible for transplant recipients: “I took my son to our first baseball game.” “My mom reads me to sleep.” “I got a second chance to live.”

The spots place emphasis on family as the touchstone for dialogue about organ donation and also highlight Donate Life California’s websites – www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org and its Spanish-language counterpart, www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org – as resources to obtain more information as well as register.

In Spanish the spots follow a similar format, but they carry an additional component: an old saying that speaks directly to the need for donation: “Lo que se han de comer los gusanos, que lo disfruten los humanos” (“What the worms might eat, let humans enjoy”).

With more than 200 hospitals, 11 transplant centers and a diverse population of 19 million, OneLegacy is the largest organ, eye and tissue recovery organization in the world. For more information, call OneLegacy at (800) 786-4077 or visit www.onelegacy.org.

High concentration of Azithromycin in infected tissues is also caused by the fact that phagocytes and macrophages transport it to the site of infection and release in the area of inflammation. Azithromycin is prescribed in case of illness or injury at the time.

Donate Life America Honors OneLegacy Employee with Prestigious Pinnacle Award

LOS ANGELES, Calif., July 11, 2013 – OneLegacy, the non-profit, federally designated organ and tissue recovery organization serving the seven-county greater Los Angeles area, reported today that Sonia Navarro, the agency’s Latino Community Development Coordinator, received a prestigious Pinnacle Award from Donate Life America for her Done Vida Embajadores program, which was considered the nation’s best volunteer program to inspire support for organ, eye and tissue donation.

“This is a tremendous honor,” she acknowledged. “I am so pleased to receive this recognition from our national organization and on behalf of the many Spanish-language Embajadores, who have worked so hard to inspire our community to register as donors and choose donation to honor family members. Volunteering is not part of the Latino culture, so it has been important to build trust one person at a time.”

Ms. Navarro came to OneLegacy in 2005 and served the agency’s Family Services group working with grieving donor families. She leveraged that three-year experience into her community development work by doing one-on-one telephone calls with donor families to solicit their support in volunteering. As a result, over the past five years Ms. Navarro has built the nation’s largest volunteer program for Spanish-speakers and has successfully collaborated with the University of Claremont on a HRSA grant and Cedars Sinai Medical Center in a five-year National Institute of Health grant.

“I’ve watched donor mothers who couldn’t speak become amazing public speakers,” she remarked. “They’re not afraid to walk into a new situation and own the room. We go into every event with purpose: to inspire people. We’re able to channel their feelings into actions that honor their loved ones.”

She has also created strong partnerships with the Mexican, Salvadoran, Guatemalan and Nicaraguan Consulates in Los Angeles, which now host “Done Vida” (Donate Life) tables staffed by Embajadores in their Ventanilla de Salud (Health Window) programs.

“Developing relationships with the consulates is critical, as these are the places that immigrants trust most,” Navarro pointed out. “Trust is a big issue in the Latino community when it comes to donation.”

According to Tom Mone, CEO of OneLegacy, “Sonia’s passion for her work and the Latino community is evident in everything she touches. Sonia, her Embajadores, and community partners have helped Latino donor families leave a legacy of life, and improved Latino donation rates in our area to levels that consistently outperform the national average.”

Ms. Navarro credits her beloved parents who came to Los Angeles from Mexico with very little and built an apparel manufacturing business through hard work and dedication. “My parents cemented my cultural background and worth ethic,” Ms. Navarro acknowledged.

Ms. Navarro lives in Hacienda Heights, Calif., and is the proud mother of two teens, Angel and Albany Turcio. She was also nominated this year for the Women of Excellence award by the National Latina Business Women’s Association in Los Angeles.

Donate Life America is a nonprofit alliance in the United States dedicated to educating the public about organ, eye and tissue donation. Donate Life America is composed of national organizations and 47 local affiliates that coordinate donation related activities at the grassroots level.

With more than 200 hospitals, 11 transplant centers and a diverse population of 19 million, OneLegacy is the largest organ and tissue recovery organization in the world. For more information, call OneLegacy at (800) 786-4077 or visit www.onelegacy.org.

High concentration of Azithromycin in infected tissues is also caused by the fact that phagocytes and macrophages transport it to the site of infection and release in the area of inflammation. Azithromycin is prescribed in case of illness or injury at the time.