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Category Archives: Press Release

13 Apr

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Events News Press Release

New World Record: 12 Million Californians Say “YES!” to Saving Lives as Registered Organ, Eye & Tissue Donors

22,000 Californians still wait for life-saving transplants

SAN DIEGO, Calif., April 7, 2015 – 12 MILLION CALIFORNIANS are registered organ, eye and tissue donors. The new milestone broadens Donate Life California’s footprint as the largest organ, eye and tissue donor registry in the country and the world, and coincides with National Donate Life Month.

“Today, we celebrate and thank each and every one of the 12 million people in our state who have signed up on the Donate Life California Registry,” said Cindy Siljestrom, Donate Life California Board President. “Your registration gives hope to the more than 123,000 people who wait for the gift of life in California and across the country. Sadly, some will die waiting for an organ transplant that doesn’t come in time due to the lack of available organs. Our hope is everyone will choose to be a donor to save lives.”

Despite the vital need, only about 40 percent of adults in California are signed up to be organ, eye and tissue donors, putting California well below the national average of 50 percent.

National Donate Life Month, celebrated each April, highlights the need for life-saving and life-enhancing organ, eye and tissue transplants to inspire more people to become a donor hero and save lives simply by signing up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor. In California, that means checking “YES!” while applying for or renewing a California driver license or ID, or going online at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org.

Caleigh Haber of San Francisco is one of the more than 22,000 people in California waiting for the gift of life. She has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that has led to severe lung disease, which makes breathing for her very difficult. She is on the transplant waiting list for a new set of lungs. But there’s no guarantee she’ll get them.

“The average healthy person inhales about 28,800 times a day without even thinking twice or having to work at it,” says Caleigh. “For me, breathing is a luxury and a full-time job. Every day, I fight to breathe.”

To read more about Caleigh and other Californians touched by organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation, go to www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org/StoriesOfHope.

Each day in the U.S., 21 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:

  • One in five on the national organ transplant waiting list lives in California.
  • More than 28,000 people in the U.S. begin new lives each year thanks to organ transplants (about 79 transplants every day).
  • People of all ages, ethnicities and medical histories can register to be organ, eye and tissue donors.
  • All major religions support or permit organ, eye and tissue donation.
  • The number one priority of medical personnel is to save your life.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is an important Donate Life California partner, with 95 percent of California’s 12 million registered organ, eye and tissue donors having checked “YES!” while applying for or renewing their California driver license or ID.

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

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.

28 Oct

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News Press Release Uncategorized

2015 Donate Life Rose Parade Float to Feature Roses Dedicated to California Peace Officer Heroes

Fallen Peace Officers Not Forgotten

 TUSTIN, Calif., Oct. 28, 2014 – Southern California’s law enforcement community joined Donate Life California and the California Peace Officers’ Memorial Foundation Tuesday in honoring fallen peace officers during a special Donate Life Rose Dedication Ceremony. Dedications, written by family members, will be placed with fresh roses in the Dedication Garden on the Donate Life Float in the 2015 Rose Parade®.

DLFloat_5w_300dpi_rgbIn its 12th year, the Donate Life Rose Parade Float has become the world’s most visible campaign to raise awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation. Millions of people view the Rose Parade each year, held on New Year’s Day in Pasadena. Donate Life California and the California Peace Officers’ Memorial Foundation hosted the Rose Dedication Ceremony at the Orange County Sheriff’s Training Academy in Tustin.

Organ donation and transplantation affects people from all walks of life, including law enforcement officers. Corporal Steve Ahearn, Santa Ana Police Department, is one of the more than 22,000 Californians waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. He’s been on dialysis for three years awaiting a kidney donor to save his life so he can continue as a police officer.

“There is no doubt the fallen officers we are honoring today are heroes. They gave their lives for us all,” said Corporal Steve Ahearn, Santa Ana Police Department. “But you don’t have to take an oath to protect and serve to be a hero. Organ, eye and tissue donors are heroes, too.”

“Donor heroes and law enforcement heroes have something very important in common – they save lives,” said Charlene Zettel, CEO of Donate Life California. “California families and communities benefit from their generosity and sacrifice. We thank donor families and law enforcement families as well, for sharing their heroes with us.”

CPOMF logo“Many of California’s fallen officers continue to give the gift of life. Through their tragedy, others’ lives were saved and/or healed through organ, eye and tissue donation. Many other officers, like Officer Sablan, are able to give the gift of life without such a tragedy by selflessly offering to supply an organ to a fellow co-worker,” said Kevin Mickelson, president of the California Peace Officers’ Memorial Foundation. “We, along with Donate Life California, wish to highlight the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation and to remember all donors, their families, and their recipients whose lives are forever changed thanks to the gift of life.”

Other speakers and presenters included:

  • Assemblyman Don Wagner, District 68
  • Captain David Moeller, California Highway Patrol – Santa Fe Springs
  • Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, Orange County Sheriff’s Department
  • Chief Sergio Diaz, Riverside Police Department
  • Tom Mone, Chairman, Donate Life Rose Parade Float Committee; CEO and Vice President, OneLegacy

The fallen officers recognized at today’s ceremony by their End of Watch (EOW) are:

The names and biographies of all California peace officers killed in the line of duty can be found at www.camemorial.org under the “Honor Roll” tab.

About the Donate Life Float in the 2015 Rose Parade®:

RP2015_DonateLife_NeverEndingStory_4x6x300The 2015 Donate Life Rose Parade Float, themed “The Never-Ending Story,” features 60 beautiful butterflies emerging from an open book. The butterflies ascend above 72 books adorned with floragraph portraits of deceased donors whose legacies are nurtured by their loved ones. Walking alongside the float will be 12 living organ donors. Seated among thousands of dedicated roses are 30 riders representing transplant recipients who celebrate the new chapters of their lives made possible only by the generosity of donors.

Since its debut on New Year’s Day 2004, the Donate Life Rose Parade Float has become the world’s most visible campaign to inspire people to become organ, eye and tissue donors. The campaign began as an idea expressed in a letter by lung recipient Gary Foxen (Orange, Calif.), who wanted to show gratitude to donors who make life-saving transplants possible.

Now, in addition to the 40 million viewers who view the Rose Parade in the stands and on TV, hundreds of events are held in cities and towns around the country to put the finishing touches on floragraph portraits and present dedicated roses to donor families and community partners that play a role in making donation possible.

Fast Facts from Donate Life California:

  • 21 people across the country die each day awaiting life-saving organ transplants.
  • One in five on the U.S. organ transplant waiting list lives in California.
  • All major religions support or permit organ, eye and tissue donation.
  • You’re never too old or sick to be a registered organ, eye and tissue donor.

About Donate Life California:

Donate Life California is the nonprofit, state-authorized organ, eye and tissue donor registry. As a public service, the registry assures 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 (formerly CTDN), 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.

About the California Peace Officers’ Memorial Foundation:

The California Peace Officers’ Memorial Foundation is a nonprofit charitable foundation whose mission is to recognize and honor California’s peace officers who gave their lives ‘In the Line of Duty’ serving the citizens of this great state, and provides support to the family members left behind. For more information, go to www.camemorial.org.

26 Jun

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News Press Release Social Media

61 California Hospitals Recognized Nationally for Organ Donor Registration Campaigns

HRSA WPFL logo banner DLC CHA v2 rgbSAN DIEGO, Calif., June 26, 2014 – The California Hospital Association (CHA) and Donate Life California congratulate 61 California medical centers, hospitals and health systems for receiving national recognition of their efforts to increase organ donor designations. The organizations were honored as part of the 2014 Workplace Partnership for Life (WPFL) Hospital Campaign sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.

Hospitals are uniquely positioned to educate patients, visitors, members of the community, and their own staff and caregivers about the life-saving importance of becoming an organ and tissue donor. California’s four organ procurement organizations (OPOs) collaborate with hospitals to provide educational materials on organ, eye and tissue donation and host promotional events such as Donate Life flag-raising ceremonies, media opportunities, donor family events and more.

This year, each OPO enrolled its region’s hospitals in Phase III of the 2014 WPFL Hospital Campaign and tracked their Donate Life activities between June 2013 and May 2014 to accumulate points toward a gold, silver or bronze level recognition. Eight hospitals earned gold medals, 11 earned silver medals and 42 earned bronze. All 61 hospitals were recognized at the Association for Organ Procurement Organizations 2014 Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Md. A full list of recognized California hospitals can be found at http://organdonor.gov/howhelp/recognitionlists_6_25.pdf.

“It is absolutely incredible to see our hospitals’ increasing commitment to educating their employees and communities on the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation,” said Joan Cardellino, director, volunteer services at California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. “Last year, just one California hospital participated in the WPFL campaign. To have 61 recognized this year is a testament to the successful efforts of California hospitals to create a culture of donation.”

“We couldn’t be happier with the results of the 2014 WPFL Hospital Campaign,” said Charlene Zettel, Donate Life California CEO. “California has the largest waiting list in the country, with nearly 22,000 people in need of life-saving organ transplants. Yet, with about 35 million people in California, only one-third have registered their wishes to become organ and tissue donors. While we have 11 million on our registry, we are not keeping pace with the generous spirit for which California is known. We are confident our partnership with California’s hospitals, CHA and organ and tissue recovery organizations will save lives by inspiring more people to sign up as donors.”

Each day, 79 people in the U.S. receive life-saving organ transplants, and thousands more benefit from cornea and tissue transplants. These extraordinary gifts have been generously donated by people of all ages and backgrounds who took just a few minutes to indicate their decisions to become organ and tissue donors. However, broader awareness of the need for organ, eye and tissue donation is crucial. More than 123,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant nationwide, and each week more than 100 die because no organ is available.

CHA and Donate Life California encourage others to give the gift of life by signing up today to become an organ, eye, and tissue donor at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org.

Fast Facts about organ, eye and tissue donation:

  • In 2013, organ donors in California saved more than 3,000 lives and improved thousands more with eye and tissue donation.
  • One organ donor can save as many as eight lives and improve many more through eye and tissue donation.
  • Anyone can be a potential donor regardless of age, race or medical history.

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 (formerly CTDN), 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.

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.

Contacts:
Jan Emerson-Shea, Vice President, External Affairs, CHA, 916-443-7401
Brianne Mundy, Program Manager, Donate Life California, 619-563-5137

 

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.