U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Recognizes Donate Life California and 112 Hospital Partners for Efforts to Increase Organ Donor Registrations

SAN DIEGO, Calif., Aug. 4, 2015 – Donate Life California and 112 California hospitals and transplant centers are among a select group of donation organizations nationwide recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for conducting activities that promote enrollment in state organ donor registries. Donate Life California and these facilities are part of the national Workplace Partnership for Life (WPFL) Hospital Campaign, sponsored by HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Donate Life California, in partnership with the California Hospital Association (CHA) and California’s four organ procurement organizations, Donor Network West, Lifesharing, OneLegacy and Sierra Donor Services, recruited hospitals and transplant centers to participate in Phase IV of the HRSA WPFL Hospital Campaign and partnered with them to plan awareness and registry activities focused on increasing the number of organ, eye and tissue donors. A number of activity and event ideas, resources and information were made available through Donate Life California’s Hospital Volunteer Toolkit. Hospitals earned points for each activity implemented between Aug. 1, 2014 and April 30, 2015 and were awarded gold, silver or bronze recognition by HRSA.

In California, 112 hospitals and transplant centers received recognition for their activities and outreach programs that inspired members of their community to join the Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry: 44 earned gold recognition, 34 earned silver recognition and 34 earned bronze recognition. The participation of these hospitals represents an 84 percent increase over the 61 California hospitals and transplant centers recognized in last year’s national campaign. See the full list by state of hospitals and transplant centers recognized here.

“Programs like the WPFL Hospital Campaign are critical in raising awareness for the life-saving need for organ donation. Nearly 22,000 people in California alone are waiting for organ transplants,” said Charlene Zettel, Donate Life California CEO. “Awareness activities lead to more people registering to be organ, eye and tissue donors which will help save and heal more lives. We commend our hospitals, organ recovery organizations and CHA for their support and partnership in this instrumental program – together we continue to save lives.”

Of the 1,658 hospitals and transplant centers enrolled in the campaign nationwide, 736 were awarded recognition during this phase of the campaign. These numbers represent a 29 percent increase in enrollment and a 56 percent increase in recognition over Phase III, and, according to HRSA, are “a tribute to the work that so many have dedicated to this effort. Most important, since launching in 2011, the campaign has added more than 350,000 donor enrollments to state registries around the country, far surpassing the original goal of 300,000.”

The Hospital Campaign is a special effort of HRSA’s WPFL designed to mobilize the nation’s hospitals to increase the number of those registered as potential organ, eye and tissue donors. The campaign unites donation advocates at hospitals with representatives from organ procurement organizations, Donate Life America state teams, and state hospital associations. Working together, teams leverage communications resources and outreach efforts to call attention to the critical need for donors.

Fast Facts from Donate Life California:

• One in five on the national organ transplant waiting list lives in California.
• More than 29,000 people in the U.S. begin new lives each year thanks to organ transplants (about 81 transplants every day).
• 22 people die each day because the life-saving organ they needed did not become available in time

About Donate Life California:

Donate Life California is the nonprofit, state-authorized organ, eye and tissue donor registry. Individuals can add their name to the registry by checking “YES!” every time they renew/apply for their driver license or ID card at the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). This ensures their desire to donate life will be carried out. A pink “DONOR” dot is added to their driver license or ID as a symbol of their decision. Individuals can also sign up online at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org. As a public service, the registry ensures all personal information is kept confidential and stored in a secure database, accessible only to authorized organ and tissue recovery personnel at the time of an actual donation opportunity. The registry is administered by Donate Life California and California’s four nonprofit, federally designated organ procurement organizations (OPOs): Donor Network West, Lifesharing, OneLegacy and Sierra Donor Services.

Contact: Brianne Mundy Page, 858-220-8351, brianne@donateLIFEcalifornia.org