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Yearly Archives: 2018

Include an Organ Donation Presentation in the Start of Your School Year

Each fall, thousands of students step onto high school campuses around California for the first time. Over the next four years, they will learn so many things. We hope one piece of that will include an organ donation presentation.

For all the educators out there, the start of the school year is the perfect time to get a presentation on your lesson plan calendar.

As students are heading to get their first driver’s license, they’ll be asked the important question of whether they want to be donors. It’s important to ensure they have all their questions answered before they make their decision.

It’s Now a Part of the Curriculum

In 2012, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 1967 which required the health and science frameworks to add information on transplantation and donation. It has since been added to the health framework and will be in the next edition of the science framework.

Donate Life California has worked to create lesson plans and provide educators with resources to help them in preparing for teaching their high school students about donation and transplantation. This can include showing our “Decision to Donate” video, donation related games such as our crossword puzzle, an organ donation presentation, and more.

Why is Discussing Donation in the Classroom Important?

In many cultures, death isn’t a topic we like to talk about. While some students will have discussions at home about donation, many high school students will not be thinking about what they want to happen if they were to pass away. When students fill out their driver’s license application, they will be asked for the first time whether they’d like to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor.

At this point, it is likely that these students haven’t had the chance to learn about, discuss, or ask questions about what donation means.

Having donation and transplantation discussed in the classroom ensures that students are making the best decision for them when they are asked to become a donor.

Does Being a Minor Make a Difference?

In California, you can first sign up for the official organ, eye and tissue donor registry at the age of 13. This is most common when a teenager goes to the DMV for their driver’s license.

While minors may register their intent to become a donor, their parents or legal guardian will still have the final decision on whether their child becomes a donor until they are 18 years old.

At the same time, if a teen wishes to register, their decision to donate will become legally binding when they turn 18. This allows them to ensure their wishes are met as they have the choice to make them.

What Do We Teach Our Students?

First and foremost, it is important to teach students what donation and transplantation are, as well as the facts about the process. There are often myths that are tied to donation and addressing the student’s questions about donation will help them better understand what organ, eye and tissue donation is.

Once students understand the basics of donation, it gives you an opportunity to teach them why donation and transplantation are important. Giving students the opportunity to understand the impact it has on others can help them make the best decision for them.

Additionally, teaching students the importance of discussing donation and their decision with their families is suggested. As noted, minors won’t make the final decision. But even more so, it’s helpful at any age to inform your family members of your wishes after you pass away, even though death isn’t always easy to talk about.

Why Schedule an Organ Donation Presentation?

We’d love to work with you to bring an expert to your classroom when you’re covering donation and transplantation. Having an organ donation presentation as a part of your lesson plan allows you to have an expert answering your students’ questions and allows them to hear personal stories about donation.

While we provide a resource that will answer the most common questions regarding donation, your students might have additional ones you might not yet know the answers to. When you bring in a volunteer or staff member from our local organ procurement organizations, they’ll be able to make sure you’re students questions are answered.

While some students will see the importance of registering as a donor through statistics and facts, some students will be moved by hearing a personal story of how donation has impacted their lives. Whether it is a transplant recipient, living donor, or donor family member who makes the organ donation presentation, this personal connection can make the impact of donation real to your students.

How to Schedule a Presentation?

We have volunteers and staff from the organ procurement organizations around the state that would love to come to your classroom. They’ll work with you to create a presentation that fits your needs and your classroom.

Click here to fill out this form and we’ll put you in contact with your local OPO to get an organ donation presentation on your schedule.

Organ Donation and Whole-Body Donation: What’s the Difference?

One of the most common questions we get at Donate Life California is if a whole-body donation is accepted. Donate Life California is solely responsible for managing the organ and tissue donor registry for California. We can not accept a whole body donation, as dictated by the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act.

At Donate Life California, our mission is to save lives through organ and tissue donation. We only focus on recovering organs and tissues to gift to persons on the transplant waiting list. Whole body donation programs are specifically targeted for furthering positive scientific research. These programs vary in their scope and research – from developing cures to diseases to understanding additional functions of the human body – all of which are noteworthy and laudable causes, as well.

One organ and tissue donor can save 8 lives and restore health to over 75 others.

Whole-body donation, on the other hand, is a different type of program when a donor’s body is gifted to an entity (normally a research university) for research or educational purposes. In most cases, these programs keep the donor’s body and do not return it, or only do when they finish with their research.

How Does The Organ Recovery Process Work?

When one of our local organ procurement organizations receives a referral for an organ donor, the donation process begins and usually takes around 24 hours. Once the process is complete and we have recovered all of the viable organs and tissue possible, we coordinate the return of the donor’s body to a hospital, mortuary, or funeral home. The donor family can then proceed with whatever burial rites

Organ donation provides a life-line to those on the transplant waiting list.

Donate Life California cannot legally keep a body once the donation procedure has finished. We do not provide any cremation or burial services. We will arrange for any necessary transportation and cover any costs. Once we return the body to the donor family, they can proceed to with any funeral arrangements they planned.

For additional information on the donation process, click here.

Can I Be Registered for both Organ Donation and Whole-Body Donation?

A quick answer to this question: it depends on the program you signed up with. Some whole-body donor programs may have a need for a donor’s entire body for research purposes. They may request that you refrain from being an organ and/or tissue donor. Other whole-body donation programs may focus on a specific body part, organ, or tissue that may not be able to be recovered for gifting, but other organs and tissue would be recoverable to gift to those on the transplant waiting list.

Register to be an organ donor today.

If you are both an organ donor and whole-body donor, we suggest that you contact your whole-body donation program. This way, you can clarify what their program needs so that your donation wishes are respected. Whether you are a registered organ donor or a whole-body donor (or both!), you are giving yourself to a cause greater than you and we thank you for helping save lives.

To sign up as an organ and tissue donor and help save up to eight lives and affect another seventy-five, click here.

CEO Blog : Celebrating Summer & the Gift of Life

Everyone knows Californians love our summers. Whether we’re heading to the beach, taking a hike, or hitting the ballpark we’re celebrating the gift of life. All of us within the donation community know how important that gift is, the lives it can change, and the importance of celebrating life.

This summer, the Donate Life California team has been working hard to ensure our mission to save lives by increasing opportunities for Californians to join the organ, eye and tissue registry. It’s been a balance of hard work and a lot of fun as we help increase access to the gift of life.

Donate Life Califonia Finds A New Home in the Capital Region

Our team has recently marked the one year anniversary of moving the organization to the capital area in West Sacramento. With our offices being located near the Capitol, we have seen a great advantage in our legislative efforts for 2018 and in building the necessary relationships needed to protect and promote organ, eye and tissue donation.

The summer is also a busy time in the legislature. This year the Donate Life California team has been fighting to increase opportunities for Californians to give the gift of life by working on  three pieces of legislation this year:

  • AB 2096 which establishes Donate Life California as one of the organizations to which taxpayers may make donations on the Franchise Tax Boards personal income tax forms.
  • AB 3211 which clarifies donation language used on the State’s template for Advanced Healthcare Directives.
  • SB 987 which adds clarification language about organ, eye, and tissue donation to the DMV’s  DL 44 Form.

Find out more about these bills within our recent legislative update.

Celebrating the gift of life this summer.

The office move has also facilitated a continued close relationship with California DMV leadership, a critical partner in our registration of new donors across the state. Recently, we’ve seen significant gains of 25% over traditional donor registration rates which are mainly attributable to Real ID requirements and technology advancements at the DMV. These increases have been noted over the last 6 weeks and we are anticipating their continuance until much later in 2018.

We’re Already Getting Ready to Celebrate the Gift of Life at the Rose Parade!

You might not believe it, but the summer is a busy time in regards to the Donate Life Rose Parade Float. The float’s team is working hard to ensure we’re all up and running as decorating and events start in just a few months.

As a sponsor of the float, Donate Life California will soon be announcing our 2019 Floragraph honoree so keep an eye out!

After attending the event at the start of the year I can tell you, it is hard not to be moved to emotion when hearing the stories of donors and recipients, meeting their families, and understanding the sacrifices and resilience of all involved.

The event connects thousands of volunteer hours to our mission in the construction and decoration of the Float. Donors, donor families, and recipients are all honored in the process and convene in Pasadena to celebrate the gift of life provided by organ donation. I am humbled to know and to have met so many great people who choose to celebrate lives lost and the gift of time given through organ donation. I can’t think of a better community of which to be a part of. I’m happy to be able to participate in this event on an annual basis, allowing me to grow my circle of friends and realize the altruistic impact donors and donor families choose to make.

Donate Life Celebrates at Events Around the State

Summer is a busy time around the state for all our organ procurement organizations who’ve been putting on events to share the message of donation and celebrate the gift of life. There have been run/walk events, Donate Life Days at MLB Ballparks, and so much more.

Celebrating the gift of life this summer.

Our team has been heading out to many of these events and hope you’ll join us at one near you in the future. Be sure to keep an eye out on our event calendar or your local OPO’s event page. We hope to see you at an event soon!

We have other irons in the fire, so to speak, so be sure to keep an eye out for our newsletters in your inbox and follow us on social media for more updates.