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15 Feb

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Events News Press Release

Donate Life California Shares Life-saving Message of Organ & Tissue Donation at 53rd California Hospital Volunteer Leadership Conference

MONTEREY BAY, Calif., Feb. 15, 2016 – Donate Life California, the nonprofit state-authorized organ and tissue donor registry, is participating for the third straight year in the California Hospital Volunteer Leadership Conference hosted by California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (CAHHS). The 53rd annual conference is Feb. 15 – 18, 2016 in Monterey Bay.

Donate Life California will present to the more than 300 hospital volunteers in attendance about the critical need for organ donors and share ways they can help inspire Californians to register as organ, eye and tissue donors. Conference attendees will hear stories of donor heroes, including Sisto Fuentes of Porterville. Sisto became an organ, eye and tissue donor in February 2014, saving and healing dozens of lives. One of the people he saved was George Grimm of Salinas, who received Sisto’s heart and one of his kidneys after battling advanced heart disease and kidney failure. During the conference, George will share how organ donation gave him his life back and allows him to continue raising his two grandsons. Sisto’s brother, Freddie Fuentes, will share how his brother’s gift to George has also been a gift to the Fuentes family.

“My brother was always a giver. His death was unfortunate and devastating, but being able to save George’s life and the lives of so many others has been a tremendous blessing to our family,” says Freddie. “We miss Sisto.  His death has left a huge hole in our hearts, but because of organ, eye and tissue donation, he lives on.”

“While hospital volunteers are not directly involved in the organ, eye and tissue donation process, they can encourage people in their communities to sign up on the Donate Life California Registry,” says Monica Johnson, president of the Donate Life California board of directors. “Only 43 percent of Californians are registered donors. We’re asking hospital volunteers to join our mission to help increase donor registration.”

Donate Life California has developed a resource for hospital volunteers called the Hospital Volunteer Online Toolkit, which is available at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org/hospitaltoolkit. The toolkit offers guidance for hospital volunteers on how they can:

  • Become involved in Donate Life activities in their hospitals, including Blue & Green Day on Friday, April 15, 2016.
  • Request a speaker – either a donor family member or a transplant recipient – for a gathering, meeting or event.
  • Talk about organ, eye and tissue donation in their communities.

Those attending the conference can also visit the Donate Life California exhibit table on Tuesday and Wednesday for more information.

All Californians can register to be donors by checking “YES!” at the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or by signing up at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org.

Fast Facts from Donate Life California:

  • 21,913 people in California are on the national organ transplant waiting list (121,515).
  • 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.

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

27 May

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Events News Social Media Uncategorized

The Winners of the 2015 Donate Life Blue & Green Day DMV Photo Contest Are…

SAN DIEGO, Calif., May 27, 2015 – Congratulations to the winning California Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) field offices that participated in this year’s Blue & Green Day regional contests, held on Friday, April 17. Thanks for showing your spirit for organ, eye and tissue donation throughout the year, and especially during Donate Life Month in April. We appreciate your partnership in helping to register more than 12 million donors in California. We love our DMVs!

Donor Network West (central and northern California):

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

Lifesharing (San Diego and Imperial Counties):

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

OneLegacy (Greater Los Angeles):

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

Sierra Donor Services (Sacramento area):

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

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.

30 Apr

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Events News Uncategorized

Donate Life California Legislative Action Days 2015

Capitol Steps

Donate Life California Board members, staff and Donate Life Ambassadors with Speaker Toni Atkins on the Capitol steps.

On April 20 and 21, 2015, we held our Legislative Action Days at the State Capitol in Sacramento. Our mission and purpose: to educate California legislators about the need for organ, eye and tissue donation and by sharing our stories, inspire them to help us save and heal more lives in our state. Donate Life California Board members, staff and Donate Life Ambassadors from the state’s four organ procurement organizations (OPOs) met with 39 state legislators. There were many connections to donation and transplantation in our group, including transplant recipients, family of recipients, donor family members, living donors and a transplant candidate. All had the opportunity to talk about their experiences with the legislators, along with these key points:

  • The vast majority, 95%, of our sign-ups come from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), our state-authorized partner.
  • More than 123,000 people are on the national organ transplant waiting list. 22,000 of those live right here in California.
  • Only 39% of Californians are registered organ, eye and tissue donors. The national average is 50.2%.
  • Our legislative history, including:
    • AB 1967 (Perez, 2012) – Ensures that organ and tissue donation is taught in high school health and science classes statewide. Currently, the science education frameworks are being updated to include new items, including organ and tissue donation.
    • AB 2399 (Perez, 2014) – Enables Donate Life California to electronically sign up donors using a driver license or ID card and a mobile scanning device. The program, called eRegistration, is being rolled out soon.

While we aren’t currently sponsoring any legislation, it is still important to educate our legislators, in particular those who are serving for the first time, about our mission to save and heal more lives through organ, eye and tissue donation and to offer them ways to support our efforts. We encouraged our legislators to put a Donate Life California link on their websites to enable their constituents to sign up, and to share our mission through their newsletters, social media and other communications channels.

Frazier_Donate Life 082 04-20-15

Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) 29 presentation on the Assembly Floor. Pictured left to right: (Top Row) Donate Life California Board member Tom Mone, Assemblyman Jim Frazier (AD 11), Donate Life California Board member Prasad Garimella. (Bottom Row) Assemblywoman Young Kim (AD 65), Donate Life California CEO Charlene Zettel, DMV Director Jean Shiomoto, Donate Life California Board President Cindy Siljestrom, Donate Life California Board Treasurer Sharon Ross

In addition to our visits, we were invited to accept a DMV/Donate Life California Month resolution on both the Assembly and Senate Floors. Assemblyman Jim Frazier (AD 11) authored Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) 29, which encourages all Californians to sign up with the Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry and declared April 20, 2015 as DMV/Donate Life California Day in California. Assemblyman Frazier presented the resolution to the Donate Life California Board of Directors and the DMV, represented by Director Jean Shiomoto.

2015.04.20 Donate Life CA and DMV Floor Recognition

Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) 29 presented on the Senate Floor. Pictured left to right: Dr. Richard Pan (SD 6), Donate Life California CEO Charlene Zettel, DMV Director Jean Shiomoto, Senator Sharon Runner (SD 21), Senator Tom Berryhill (SD 8)

 

Senator Sharon Runner (SD 21) presented ACR 29 on the Senate Floor to Donate Life California CEO Charlene Zettel and DMV Director Shiomoto. Senator Runner received a double lung transplant in February 2012. (Watch her presentation here.) Senator Runner is one of two current state senators who have been given the gift of life. Senator Tom Berryhill (SD 8) is a heart transplant recipient. He also spoke during the presentation. (Watch his speech here.) Senator Berryhill is celebrating the 14th anniversary of his transplant on May 10, Mother’s Day.

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DMV Director Jean Shiomoto and Donate Life California Board President Cindy Siljestrom cut the “birthday” cake in celebration of the DMV’s Centennial.

On Monday afternoon, we hosted a Legislative Reception to honor our partnership with the DMV and to celebrate the DMV’s Centennial – A Century of Innovation. During a short program, Donate Life California Board President Cindy Siljestrom presented DMV Director Shiomoto with a “birthday” cake featuring the DMV Centennial logo and a decorative clock to represent the additional time that organ, eye and tissue donors give to recipients and their loved ones. Director Shiomoto promised to continue to work with Donate Life California to improve the donor registration process and to educate DMV employees about their role in saving and healing lives through organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation.

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Senator Tom Berryhill shares his heart transplant story.

Senator Berryhill stopped by the reception to share his inspiring story and moved the crowd to tears when he said he’s alive today to watch his daughter grow up thanks to his donor. (Read his Story of Hope here.) A representative from Senator Runner’s office also spoke at the event and shared how her office is promoting organ, eye and tissue donation. The Donate Life logo has been painted on a door and a wall in her district office. And, she and her staff held a Blue & Green Day event and wore blue and green, the Donate Life colors, on Blue & Green Day on Friday, April 17.

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Donor mom and DMV employee Lydia Alcantar shares the story of her son, Edward “Lalo” Alcantar, who became a cornea and tissue donor at age 15. Her niece holds a floral portrait, called a floragraph, of Lalo. The floragraph was featured on the 2015 Donate Life Rose Parade Float in Pasadena on New Year’s Day.

The final speaker was donor mother and DMV employee Lydia Alcantar of Porterville. She shared the story of her son, Edward “Lalo” Alcantar, who became a tissue and cornea donor at age 15. She consented to donation after recalling he had told her, “Why not let someone else see all the beautiful and gorgeous things I’ve seen?” (Read his Story of Hope here.) Lalo’s picture, in the form of a floral portrait called a floragraph, was featured on the 2015 Donate Life Rose Parade Float on New Year’s Day in Pasadena.

Other highlights of our Legislative Action Days include:

  • Group photo with Speaker Toni Atkins on the Capitol steps. (Photo at top of page.)
  • Awards presentation for 2015 Donate Life Visual Arts Contest sponsored by Sierra Donor Services and UC Davis Transplant Program. Special guests included Dr. Richard Perez and Dr. Davis Acosta from UC Davis Health System.
  • Legislative briefing by Assemblyman Jim Frazier in preparation for our visits with the legislators.

Enjoy more photos from our two-day visit here.

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.