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

Let Life Bloom bannerSAN 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.


Donate Life CaliforniaFast 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

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):

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Lifesharing (San Diego and Imperial Counties):

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OneLegacy (Greater Los Angeles):

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Sierra Donor Services (Sacramento area):

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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.

Free Resource Celebrates Two Years of Inspiring Californians to be Living Kidney Donors

header LDC year 2

107 candidates referred to California transplant centers

SAN DIEGO, Calif., May 19, 2015 – In its first two years, Living Donation California, the first-of-its kind information and referral website for living kidney donation, has referred more than 100 potential altruistic living kidney donors to California transplant centers.

Since its launch on May 14, 2013, thousands of people have visited www.LivingDonationCalifornia.org seeking information about living kidney donation, why it’s needed, and how one person can save a life or many lives by donating one of their two kidneys. Hundreds more visitors then took the self-assessment to determine their eligibility to be living kidney donors, and 107 who met the minimal requirements were referred to one of 15 California transplant centers. The outcomes of those referrals are confidential, protected by federal and state medical privacy laws.

“It’s remarkable that in just two short years, more than 100 people, through the Living Donation California website, have determined they’re eligible to be potential living kidney donors and then have taken that next step – a referral to a transplant center to undergo further medical evaluation,” said Charlene Zettel, CEO of Donate Life California. “Due to privacy laws, we can’t say exactly how many lives have been saved through those referrals, but we know our service is saving lives, and our hope is that more people consider the option of living kidney donation.”

Currently, more than 101,000 people are waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant in the United States; nearly 19,000 are in California. Those put on the waiting list after 2004 can expect to wait up to ten years or more for a kidney transplant from a deceased donor. Each year, hundreds die waiting or become too sick to get a transplant. The Living Donation California resource is designed to help alleviate the critical shortage of kidney donors.

elauthor-eblast versionEldonna Edwards of Avila Beach met a young woman with kidney disease and offered to donate a kidney to her. While that woman declined her offer, Eldonna was determined to help someone. Her persistence led to her donating a kidney that set off a chain of transplants spanning the country.

“What started as a compassionate response to a single individual has blossomed into a far-reaching connection with a multitude of wonderful people I now call my friends,” said Eldonna. “I have been blessed with deeper meaning and greater purpose in life. People often thank me for what I did, but to my mind the gifts I received were much greater than the one I gave.” (Read Eldonna’s story here.)

In 2014 in California:

  • 2,039 people received kidney transplants:
    – 1,444 were from deceased donors.
    – 595 were from living donors.
  • 693 people died waiting for a kidney transplant.
  • 521 were removed from the waiting list because they got too sick to go through transplant surgery.

(Source: Organ Procurement and Transplant Network, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)

History of Living Donation California

In 2009, during his battle with pancreatic cancer, Apple founder Steve Jobs received a liver transplant. But, during that process he grew frustrated over the shortage of organs in the United States. In cooperation with then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Donate Life California, The Altruistic Living Donor Registry Act of 2010 (SB 1395) was signed into law, authorizing the state’s organ procurement organizations (OPOs) to establish a service designed to “promote and assist live kidney donations.” Living Donation California is that service.

About Living Donation California

Living Donation California is a free information and referral service that encourages California residents to be altruistic kidney donors, provides accurate information about living donation, and refers potentially eligible individuals for evaluation at a transplant center.

160x160Living Donation California is administered by Donate Life California, which manages the state-authorized organ and tissue deceased donor registry. Donate Life California’s Board of Directors is composed of eight representatives of the state’s four non-profit, federally designated organ procurement organizations (OPOs): Donor Network West, Lifesharing, OneLegacy, and Sierra Donor Services. In addition, Living Donation California is supported by a Board of Advisors which includes participating California kidney transplant programs.

Contact: Brianne Mundy Page
(o) 619-563-5137 (m) 858-220-8351
brianne@donateLIFEcalifornia.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.