Ten Million Californians have signed up as organ and tissue donors. This milestone achievement was celebrated on April 8, 2013 at the State Capitol, along with an Assembly resolution that designated April as Donate Life Month in California.
Chief Deputy Director, Jean Shiomoto, was at the Capitol to accept a special award on behalf of the thousands of DMV employees who have been instrumental in helping to sign people up on the donor registry everyday. Ninety-four percent of the state’s 10 million registered donors have come through the DMV.
Saving Lives Every Day captures the April 8th, Donate Life California events at the State Capitol.
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.
CHP Sponsors Donate Life California Specialty Plates
SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 9, 2013 – Donate Life California and the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced today a new record: TEN MILLION Californians have signed up as organ and tissue donors through the state’s Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, the largest in the country.
“We celebrate this amazing achievement, but we have more work to do in order to save lives. Currently, only one out of every three eligible adults checks ‘Yes’ at the DMV because too many people rule themselves out. We want everyone to say ‘Yes’ to donation!” said Lisa Stocks, Donate Life California Board President.
The continuing influx of new signups on the registry is due primarily to donation education and the convenience of signing up at the DMV. As of July 1, 2011, it became mandatory for all Californians to check one of two boxes on their driver license or I.D. card application or renewal to indicate their commitment to donation. As a result of the Donate Life California and DMV partnership, 94 percent of the state’s 10 million registered donors have come through the DMV.
“We at the DMV are once again extremely proud to be part of this great effort to continue increasing the number of potential organ and tissue donors. Each milestone reached reminds us of the lifesaving importance of our partnership with Donate Life California,” said Jean Shiomoto, DMV Chief Deputy Director.
Since the registry was introduced in April 2005, donors who had registered prior to death have saved or healed more than 120,000 lives through organ and tissue donation. In so doing, they give hope to the nearly 22,000 Californians who are waiting today for lifesaving organ transplants. The shortage of organs is not due simply to a lack of giving, but rather to the rarity with which the opportunity to donate organs presents itself. Less than one percent of deaths qualify for organ donation.
Donate Life California also announced a new specialty license plate initiative with official sponsorship from the California Highway Patrol (CHP). Proceeds from the license plates will help fund Donate Life California’s mission to save more lives and increase awareness of organ and tissue donation.
”The CHP is proud to sponsor this lifesaving initiative to promote Donate Life California and encourage Californians to consider becoming an organ and tissue donor,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “One of our officers, Kenyon Youngstrom, recently had his last wishes fulfilled by donating his organs following his death in the line of duty. The CHP has seen firsthand the impact that a donor decision can have on so many lives.”
Monday afternoon, Donate Life California held a reception to honor Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez and presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his steadfast commitment to raising awareness for organ and tissue donation and for supporting legislation to advance the Donate Life mission. Speaker Pérez welcomed the new CHP partnership and hailed the Registry’s 10 Million milestone as a huge step forward in saving the lives of thousands of Californians on the transplant waiting list.
“These special license plates are a wonderful way for Californians to take pride in being an organ donor, and to encourage others to do so,” said Speaker John A. Pérez. “This is another phenomenal way to remind Californians that every one of us has the potential to give our friends, family and neighbors a new lease on life with a donated organ, and I am very grateful for every single Californian who makes the choice to do so.”
Also on Monday, Speaker Pérez invited Donate Life California leadership to the Assembly floor to accept a resolution designating April as Donate Life Month in California. It is just one of many resolutions and key legislation the Speaker has authored in support of organ and tissue donation. In 2012 with AB 1967, he helped Donate Life California accomplish one of its highest legislative priorities – providing a means for students to receive education on organ and tissue donation. Specifically, the new law ensures that California’s health and science curricula provide students with age appropriate and accurate information on organ and tissue donation so they can make an informed decision about signing up to save lives on the Donate Life Registry. Speaker Pérez also authored a bill extending Medi-Cal coverage for post-transplant medications from one year to two years.
Upcoming Donate Life Month Events in California:
Donate Life California invites the public to help celebrate National Donate Life Month by participating in and/or supporting any of our many events held throughout the state. The largest are two fundraisers benefitting Donate Life California. They are as follows:
“The Power of Two” movie screening and discussion – Friday, April 12, 2013, 6:30 p.m. at Community United Methodist Church Half Moon Bay, Calif.
National Blue and Green Day – Friday, April 19, 2013. Supporters are encouraged to wear blue and green and submit photos to Donate Life California’s Facebook page.
FanforLife Fest – Saturday, April 20, 2013, 4 – 7 p.m. at Seaport Village in San Diego. For more information go to www.fanforlife.org.
Donate Life Run/Walk – Saturday, April 27, 2013 at Cal State Fullerton. For more information go to www.donatelifeoc.org.
The Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry is the nonprofit, state-authorized organ and tissue donor registry which records the decision to donate in a secure, confidential database that is searched by authorized organ and tissue recovery personnel at the time of an actual donation opportunity. It is administered by Donate Life California and California’s four nonprofit, federally designated organ recovery organizations: Donor Network West , Sierra Donor Services, Lifesharing and OneLegacy. As a state-authorized public service, the registry assures that all personal information is kept confidential and stored in a secure database, accessible only to authorized organ and tissue recovery personnel.
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, the national organization promoting organ and tissue donation, launched a bold new initiative to register 20 million more people in 2012. In California, our goal is to sign up 12 million people by the end of 2012 to help reach the national goal of 120 million.
“Donate Life celebrated 100 million registered donors in 2011, which means 42 percent of individuals age 18 and older are registered as organ and tissue donors,” says David Fleming, President and CEO of Donate Life America. “With the majority of individuals in the United States wishing to be organ and tissue donors, the biggest challenge to meeting our goal of 120 million will be getting people to take action and register today as an organ and tissue donors.”
The year-long “20 Million in 2012” campaign will includes four events: the Donate Life Flash Mob on March 24th, Donate Life Blue and Green Virtual Fashion Show on April 20th, Donate Life Champions in Fall 2012 and Donate Life Linking Hands for Life all year long.
The campaign also launched Donate Life America’s “I am HOPE” story project, featuring 365 incredibly powerful stories of people personally touched by organ and tissue donation. Each Donate Life State Team will have one week of 2012 to promote stories of hope from their state and disseminate them through the Facebook pages and Web sites of Donate Life America and its partners.
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.
