Donate Life California Applauds President Obama’s Signing of the HOPE Act
SAN DIEGO, Calif., Nov. 22, 2013 – President Barack Obama has signed the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act, giving the Organ Procurement Transplant Network (OPTN) the green light to begin researching the impact of HIV-positive organ transplantation in cases where the donor and the recipient are both HIV-positive. If it is determined that such positive-to-positive transplantations do not impact the overall safety of the organ transplantation network, OPTN can permit such transplants. By doing so, the HOPE Act has the potential to save 1,000 HIV-infected transplant patients each year, as well as shortening the list for uninfected people awaiting transplants.*
“Donate Life California welcomes this effort to make more organs safely available for transplant,” said Donate Life California CEO Charlene Zettel. “With more than 120,000 Americans on the organ transplant waiting list, any opportunity to improve the organ donation and transplant process is necessary. The HOPE Act is a step in the right direction, and we thank President Obama for his support.”
Two California Congresswomen, Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Lois Capps, introduced the HOPE Act in their respective houses on February 14, 2013. Along with other members of Congress, they worked in a bipartisan effort to pass the legislation.
*Source: The Human Rights Campaign, and the American Transplant Society
About Donate Life California:
The Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry is the nonprofit, state-authorized organ, eye and tissue donor registry, which records the decision to donate in a 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 , Lifesharing, OneLegacy and Sierra Donor Services. 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.
For more information about the Donate Life California Registry, how donation saves and improves lives, and to sign up, please visit www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or in Spanish at www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org.
Fast Facts from Donate Life California:
– One in five on the U.S. organ transplant waiting list lives in California.
– Last year, nearly 1,100 people died in our state waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.
– All major religions support or permit organ, eye and tissue donation.
– Anyone can register to be an organ, eye and tissue donor regardless of age, ethnicity or medical history.
Please visit Donate Life California’s Stories of Hope web page to read inspiring stories about organ and tissue donors and recipients from around the state.
# # #
Brianne Mundy
Program Manager
Donate Life California
619-940-7084
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.