Category Archives: Press Release

07 Oct

Fresno Woman to be Honored as a Living Donor Hero on the Donate Life Rose Parade® Float

FRESNO, Calif., October 8, 2019 – Fresno resident Regina Tanner has been selected by Donate Life California as the 2020 Donate Life Rose Parade® Float living donor honoree. Regina will walk alongside the float, Light in the Darkness, during the 131st Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day.

Regina, a retired nurse and attorney, became a living organ donor in the fall of 2016 when her husband, Cary, was in dire need of a new kidney. While Regina volunteered to be his donor without hesitation and was a match, the doctors informed her that she and Cary could take part in a 9-person paired kidney donation chain that would save 18 lives. Nine people received kidneys, freeing up others to move up on the transplant waiting list. She donated her kidney to a stranger and Cary received a kidney from the relative of another kidney recipient in the donation chain.

Both Regina and Cary recovered quickly and continue to enjoy their lives together. Today, Regina is an advocate for organ, eye and tissue donation and volunteers her time in the community as a Donate Life Ambassador with Donor Network West. The nonprofit organ and tissue recovery organization serves 45 counties in Northern California and Nevada.

Regina Tanner, Donate Life California’s 2020 Rose Parade® Float Honoree.

“While donating a kidney is major surgery, the surgical experience and recovery were much easier than I anticipated,” said Regina. “I had the chance to help save my husband’s life and someone else’s, and if it was possible, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I hope that our story will bring attention to unrelated paired kidney donations and the ease of accessibility in becoming a living donor so that others may be encouraged to donate.”

Kidneys are the most needed organ for transplantation in the United States. Of the 113,000 persons waiting for a life-saving transplant, 84% are waiting for a new kidney. While most transplanted kidneys are recovered from deceased donors, living donors like Regina help improve outcomes and save lives.

“Donate Life California is proud to have Regina Tanner as our honoree for the Donate Life Rose Parade® float,” said Jim Martin, Chief Executive Officer of Donate Life California. “Regina and Cary’s story of selflessness emphasizes how important it is that we have living kidney donors to help save lives. With tens of thousands of persons waiting for a new kidney, we hope that shining a light on Regina’s experience will encourage others to become donors.”

The average wait time for a new kidney is about seven to ten years in California, but many like Cary rely on a living donor to gift them a kidney. In 2010, Living Donation California was created to help increase living donation and serve as a resource for those looking to become living donors.

“We all have the power to say ‘yes’ to donation to give hope to the thousands who wait for a life-saving organ transplant. Regina used hers to be a living kidney donor. Her compassion and generosity of spirit fully embody the Rose Parade’s theme, The Power of Hope,” said Janice F. Whaley, Chief Executive Officer of Donor Network West.

Each day, 22 people in the U.S. die waiting because the organ they needed did not become available in time. Organs needed for transplant are heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas or intestine.Tissue transplants, meanwhile, save and heal lives. Tissues for transplant include cornea, skin, heart valves, bone tissue, tendons, veins, ligaments, and cartilage. More than a million tissue transplants occur each year, and the surgical need for tissue has been steadily rising. Corneal transplants restore sight to nearly 50,000 people each year.

Fast Facts:
– In 2018, organ, eye and tissue donors in California saved more than 4,100 lives and improved thousands more with eye and tissue donation.
– 22 people across the country die each day awaiting life-saving organ transplants.
– Nearly 22,000 people (about 19 percent of the national list) who wait for a life-saving organ transplant live in California.

About the 2020 Donate Life Rose Parade® Float

Concept art of the 2020 Donate Life Rose Parade® Float.

The 2020 Donate Life Rose Parade® float, Light in the Darkness, shares the Power of Hope by highlighting Southeast Asia’s Diwali, or the Festival of Lights, a celebration of light shining in the darkness. Organ, eye, and tissue donation is often the first spark of light families see when in their darkest moments, the opportunity to honor their loved ones’ legacy provides hope and light to both grieving donor families and grateful recipients.

About Donate Life California:

The Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry is the nonprofit, state-authorized organ, eye, and tissue donor registry. As a 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 at the time of an actual donation opportunity. The registry 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. For more information about Donate Life California; how organ, eye and tissue donation saves and improves lives; and to sign up, please visit www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or in Spanish at www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org.

More Fast Facts from Donate Life California:

– All major religions support or permit organ, eye and tissue donation.
– You’re never too old to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor.
– Do not rule yourself out! People with all medical conditions are potential donors.
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.

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.

Living Donation California is administered by Donate Life California, which manages the state-authorized organ and tissue deceased donor registry. Also, Living Donation California is supported by a Board of Advisors which includes participating California kidney transplant programs. Learn more at www.livingdonationcalifornia.org.

19 Apr

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Administrator

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News Press Release

New CEO Takes Reins at Donate Life California

West Sacramento, Calif., April 19, 2017 – Long-time Sacramento resident Jim Martin has been named the new CEO of Donate Life California, the nonprofit organization that administers the official state registry for organ, eye and tissue donors.

“With 14 million registrants, California has the largest organ, eye, and tissue donor registry in the world, but currently less than half the population of our state has signed up,” notes Monica Johnson, president of the Donate Life California Board and executive director of Sierra Donor Services, the organ procurement organization serving the Sacramento Valley, located in West Sacramento. “Jim Martin comes to this important statewide position with a strong strategic background in advocacy work and building community partners, as well as fiscal planning, administration and project management. Under his leadership as our new CEO, we know we’ll be able to save even more lives thanks to transplantation.”

Currently, 21,911 Californians – approximately 1 in 5 people on the US Waiting List – need an organ transplant to survive. Last year, 939 Californians became organ donors saving the lives of nearly 3,200 people. Tragically 1,045 people died waiting here because there aren’t enough donors.

“Jim looks forward to continuing our strong collaboration with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and seeking exciting new partnerships for Donate Life California, providing innovative ways for Californians to sign up on the Donate Life Registry,” Johnson added.

Martin says his plan of action as Donate Life California’s new CEO begins with establishing the Donate Life California office in Sacramento and developing a strategic plan to build statewide advocacy. His overarching goal is to increase the number of Californian’s registering as organ, eye and tissue donors, through the DMV and online.

Previously Martin was executive director of Martin’s Achievement Place in Sacramento, a residential treatment program for at-risk foster boys.

“I’ve spent my entire life in the nonprofit service world – serving youth and families. I’m excited to continue serving families by creating opportunities for all Californians to sign up on the Donate Life California Registry and ultimately save lives. Organ, eye, and tissue donation is the ultimate act of humanity,” Martin said.

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05 Apr

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Events News Press Release

Donate Life California Honors Senator Ben Allen as Legislator of the Year

SAN DIEGO, Calif., April 4, 2017 – Donate Life California kicked off April as National Donate Life Month by recognizing California Senator Ben Allen as Legislator of the Year for his work on legislation in support of organ, eye and tissue donation. Donate Life California is the state’s nonprofit, state-authorized organ, eye and tissue donor registry.

Senator Allen also co-authored a Senate Resolution designating April 2017 as Donate Life/DMV Partnership Month in California, with Senator Tom Berryhill, who received a heart transplant in May 2001. The Donate Life California board of directors witnessed the resolution presentation on the Senate Floor.

“Donate Life California wants to recognize Senator Allen as Donate Life California’s Legislator of the Year for his leadership in authoring legislation that decriminalizes organ donation between HIV-positive donors and HIV-positive recipients,” said Monica Johnson, Donate Life California Board President. “The implementation of this bill allows us to honor the wishes of people with HIV who choose to be organ donors, and in doing so, saves more lives through donation and transplantation.”

Senator Allen authored SB 1408, which amends an outdated California statute to remove a provision that prohibited HIV-positive individuals from donating organs, thus bringing state law in line with federal law under the HOPE (HIV Organ Policy Equity) Act and allowing for organ donation between HIV-positive donors and HIV-positive recipients.

“I am honored to receive this award from Donate Life California, a wonderful organization that saves thousands of lives each year by promoting organ, eye and tissue donation. I am proud to be an ally in this worthy effort,” Senator Allen (D – Santa Monica) said.

National Donate Life Month, celebrated each April, is a national campaign aimed at encouraging the public to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor and to celebrate those who have saved lives through the gift of donation. This campaign is especially important in California, which has the longest waiting list but where only about 40 percent of adults are signed up to be organ, eye and tissue donors, putting California well below the national average of 50 percent.

The Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry – which has grown from 9,000 when it launched in 2004 to nearly 14 million in April 2017 – offers hope to those on the waiting list who count on the kindness and generosity of others for the “gift of life.”

Earl Lovell of Suisun City, CA, a retired Navy veteran, husband and father, and was the picture of health until he suffered a “widowmaker” heart attack in June 2009 that so severely damaged his heart, he required a transplant. On August 1, 2012, Earl received a “new” heart, thanks to his donor, a 42-year old husband and father. “It is the greatest gift I could ever have received. I owe it to my donor and the family he left behind to tell the world of his unselfish act.”

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is an important Donate Life California partner, with 95 percent of California’s nearly 14 million registered organ, eye and tissue donors having checked “YES!” while applying for or renewing their California driver license or ID. Californians can also sign up on the registry at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org.

Each day in the U.S., 22 people die waiting because the organ they needed did not come available in time. Organs needed for transplant are heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas or intestine.

Tissue transplants, meanwhile, save and heal lives. Tissues for transplant include cornea, skin, heart valves, bone tissue, tendons, veins, ligaments and cartilage. More than a million tissue transplants are done each year, and the surgical need for tissue has been steadily rising. Corneal transplants restore sight to nearly 50,000 people each year.

Fast Facts from Donate Life California:

21,886 people are on the organ transplant waiting list in California; 118,368 are waiting nationally (i.e. one in five on the national organ transplant waiting list lives in California.)
More than 33,000 people in the U.S. begin new lives each year thanks to organ transplants (about 91 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.