Category Archives: Press Release

Greater Los Angeles Non-Profit Helped to Save and Heal More Than 100,000 Lives Through Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 14, 2014 – OneLegacy, the non-profit, federally designated organ, eye and tissue recovery organization serving the seven-county greater Los Angeles area, announced a new annual benchmark for U.S. organ recovery organizations with 1,374 organs recovered and transplanted and a record 2,044 eye and tissue donors in 2013.

“In 2013, donors and their families cared for by OneLegacy gave a record number of life-saving organs to patients awaiting transplants in California, throughout the nation, and even in Canada when there were no matches with U.S. patients,” announced Tom Mone, chief executive officer of OneLegacy. “This accomplishment was achieved thanks to the decisions by individuals and families to give life to others, as well as OneLegacy’s implementation of innovative donor management techniques that enabled the successful transplant of more organs from each donor to better serve transplant centers and their patients.”

Last year, OneLegacy recovered organs from a total of 422 deceased donors, the second highest in its history. The organization made enormous strides in helping each donor save as many lives as possible, reaching 3.26 organs transplanted per donor, five percent higher then the U.S. average. Mone attributed this development to the use of an intensivist consultation program that has made lungs and hearts more viable for transplant. The 172 hearts transplanted represented an increase of 38 percent after three years of virtually no gains, and the 247 lungs transplanted was up 28 percent in one year with both hearts and lungs transplant rates 40% higher than U.S. averages.

OneLegacy also set a record for the organization by recovering tissue and corneas from 2,044 donors. Patients nationwide can be thankful for tissue donors who provided skin used for abdominal repairs and burn dressings, bone to repair fractures and prevent amputation, heart valves to repair life-threatening defects, tendons to repair major knee injuries, veins for cardiac bypass surgery, and corneas to end blindness.

Driving OneLegacy’s organ recovery activity was an organ authorization rate of 71 percent, the second-highest in the organization’s history. With seven out of ten organ donation opportunities authorized either by the individual (through donor designation, primarily via the California DMV) or the donor’s family, Southland residents expressed their generosity in the most profound of ways: with a living legacy to those in need.

The most marked increase in authorization rate was among African Americans, a community with high rates of organ failure but where donation is frequently viewed with mistrust. The African American authorization rate of 75 percent is up five points since last year and 17 points (nearly 30 percent) in two years. The Caucasian population also saw a significant increase in donation rates, from 78 to 89 percent in one year.

The authorization rate among the two other major ethnic groups decreased, however. The rate among Latinos decreased from 72 to 68 percent, while the rate among Asians also decreased from a record high of 58 percent in 2012 to 48 percent last year, with both results heavily influenced by the language and cultural issues associated with recent immigration, as identified in a demographic study conducted for OneLegacy by researchers at Cal Poly Pomona and Loma Linda University.

Seeking to increase donation rates throughout the region’s large and challengingly diverse population, OneLegacy is preparing to launch a major multicultural community development initiative supported by media and led by six full-time employees. The initiative will focus on holding the exceptional gains among African Americans and Caucasians and inspiring Latino and Asian communities – especially first-generation immigrants who are less familiar with the process – to understand the value that donation provides to both recipients and donor families.

Notably, over 40 percent of organ, eye and tissue donors recovered through OneLegacy’s stewardship were authorized by the Donate Life California Registry, which counts over 10.7 million registered donors statewide.

With more than 200 hospitals, 10 transplant centers and a diverse population of nearly 20 million, OneLegacy is the largest organ, eye and tissue recovery organization in the world. For more information, call OneLegacy at (800) 786-4077 or visit www.onelegacy.org.

Those wishing to make the commitment to donate may register online at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or its Spanish-language counterpart, www.doneVIDAcalifornia.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.

Cindy Siljestrom, Donor Network West Chief Executive Officer

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 12, 2013 – Cindy Siljestrom has been elected to a three-year term as President of the Donate Life California Board of Directors which administers one of the nation’s largest registries of organ and tissue donors.

Since it began in 2006, more than 10.6 million people have added their names on the registry as potential donors. Donate Life California oversees the computer data base on which people register their decision to become donors and later allows health professionals to follow through on that decision.

Siljestrom has served on the Donate Life California board since 2008, the year she was chosen as Chief Executive Officer of the Donor Network West . It and the three other federally-designated nonprofits in the state support families giving the gift of life as well as provide public education about donation.

“Of the more than 120,000 people in the country who are waiting for organ transplants, one in five of them are waiting in California,” Siljestrom said. “Each new donor represents the potential for a second chance at life.”

Siljestrom said Donate Life California will continue building on the strong ties with state organizations like the CHP, the California Hospital Association and especially the DMV.

“Nearly 95 percent of the people who register as organ and tissue donors do so at the DMV. The partnership has saved lives. We appreciate the DMV staff and their passion for a lifesaving cause.”

The board includes representatives from Donor Network West , Sierra Donor Services, Lifesharing and OneLegacy.

Prior to becoming Chief Executive Officer for the Donor Network West Siljestrom administered a Bay Area hospice organization and held posts on statewide foundations in support of end-of-life care.

About the Donor Network West
The Donor Network West saves and improves lives by facilitating organ and tissue donation for transplantation. The Donor Network West partners with 175 hospitals in 41 Northern and Central California and Northern Nevada counties to offer the option of organ and tissue donation to families whose loved ones have died and coordinates deceased organ and tissue recovery and placement to waiting transplant recipients. Through its public education efforts, the hope is that every resident will chose to become a donor. The Donor Network West is federally designated as the region’s organ recovery organization. For information, call 888-570-9400 or visit www.dnwest.org.

Contact:
Anthony Borders
CTDN Communications
510-273-1226
aborders@dnwest.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.

Joshua San Pedro

MONTEBELLO, Calif., Dec. 18, 2013 – A memorial floragraph portrait honoring tissue donor Joshua San Pedro of Alta Loma will “Light Up the World” on the 2014 Donate Life Rose Parade Float in Pasadena on New Year’s Day. Today, Donate Life California and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), along with Josh’s family, put the finishing touches on the floragraph during a ceremony at the DMV’s Montebello Field Office. Josh’s cousin, Rosemarie Fortes, works for the DMV, a Donate Life California partner.

In April of this year, Joshua San Pedro, 22, suffered a fatal heart attack caused by a combination of undiagnosed medical conditions. As Josh’s family and friends began dealing with the shock of losing him so suddenly, his fiancée Alexis learned she was pregnant. Josh’s legacy lives on through his unborn child, who is due January 3rd, as well as through his gifts of tissue. Already those gifts have helped a breast cancer survivor, a bone cancer survivor and a child with a cleft palate, among others. The floragraph, one of 81 that will shine brightly on the Donate Life Float, honors Josh’s decision to heal lives after his death.

Joshua San Pedro’s family, DMV & Donate Life California representatives pose with Josh’s floragraph at a finishing event held at the Montebello DMV on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013

Josh knew firsthand the impact of one’s decision to be a donor. While playing football at Alta Loma High School, he suffered an injury requiring three operations, one of which was a knee replacement that included donated tissue. After that, Josh signed up on the Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry, knowing he could someday help others in the same way. But Josh wanted to help others in life, too. After high school, he attended Citrus College, worked as an EMT and was studying to be a paramedic.

Josh’s father, grandmother and high school friends after decorating his floragraph on Dec. 7, 20“Josh was a loving and caring person, always trying to help others, such is the nature of his living legacy as a donor,” said Kathy San Pedro, Josh’s mother. “His father and I are extremely proud of him.”

“We are honoring Josh because of his obvious compassion for others and for saving lives. As a tissue recipient, he understood the impact of being a donor, because the gift of life helped him heal from a football knee injury,” said Charlene Zettel, CEO of Donate Life California. “Now, his story as both a recipient and a donor is being shared with the world in the hopes of inspiring others to sign up to save and heal lives.”

“We are honored that Donate Life California chose a member of the DMV family to be memorialized on the Rose Parade Float,” said Jean Shiomoto, DMV Director. “Josh was dedicated to improving the lives of others in any way he could. That was evident during his life, and even after his death.”

The DMV has helped more than 10.6 million Californians sign up to be registered organ and tissue donors during its nearly 10-year partnership with Donate Life California.

About the 2014 Donate Life Rose Parade Float:

Individuals and families touched by organ and tissue donation and transplantation shine a light on us all. Transplant recipients radiate with gratitude and renewed life thanks to the gifts of organ, eye and tissue donors; families of deceased donors rekindle their spirits by carrying on their loved ones’ dreams; and both living and registered donors are beacons of hope to patients who aspire to live longer, fuller lives. Like lanterns illuminating the night sky above or the path before us, those who give and receive the gift of life Light Up the World with their compassion and courage.

The 2014 Donate Life Rose Parade Float entry features a festival of lanterns illuminating 30 riders – all grateful organ and tissue transplant recipients – and 12 living organ donors walking alongside to demonstrate their ongoing vitality. Five enormous lamps are adorned with 81 memorial floragraph portraits of deceased donors whose legacies of life shine brightly. The riders are seated throughout a dedication garden filled with thousands of roses bearing personal messages of love, hope and remembrance. For more information about the Donate Life Rose Parade Float, visit the official float website at www.donatelifefloat.org.

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.

Help Donate Life California save lives by reserving a Pink Dot Plate. Go to www.PinkDotPlate.org for details and to reserve yours today!

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.

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.