Latest News

18 Feb

Resource will save and heal more lives through organ, eye and tissue donation

INDIAN WELLS, Calif., Feb. 18, 2015 – Donate Life California has developed a new online toolkit to inspire hospital volunteers to create a culture of organ, eye and tissue donation in the hospitals and communities they serve. Donate Life California introduced the online resource at the 2015 California Hospital Volunteer Leadership Conference hosted by California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (CAHHS) in Indian Wells, California.

The Hospital Volunteer Online Toolkit offers guidance for hospital volunteers wishing to support donation activities in their hospitals, as well as resources and information about organ, eye and tissue donation. The toolkit includes suggestions on how to:

Display Donate Life materials in their hospitals.
Initiate or join events for National Donate Life Month in April, such as Donate Life Flag Raisings and Blue & Green Day.
Request a trained speaker to discuss organ, eye and tissue donation at a hospital volunteer meeting.

The Hospital Volunteer Online Toolkit is available at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org/hospitaltoolkit/.

“Not everyone says ‘YES!’ to organ, eye and tissue donation. Unfortunately, that means about a third of the more than 22,000 Californians on the waiting list won’t receive the life-saving transplant they need,” says Charlene Zettel, CEO of Donate Life California. “Hospital volunteers, with their influence in their communities, can help us change that. Our online toolkit will empower them to help change our society’s attitude, mindset and dialogue about donation and transplant, which in turn, will save more lives.”

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).
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 to read inspiring stories about organ, eye and tissue donors and recipients from around the state.

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 (formerly CTDN), Lifesharing, OneLegacy and Sierra Donor Services.

Media Contact:
Brianne Page
858-220-8351
brianne@donateLIFEcalifornia.org

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06 Feb

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Administrator

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Donate Life California on “Good News Radio Magazine”

INGLEWOOD, Calif., February 4, 2015 – Donate Life California CEO Charlene Zettel, liver transplant recipient Terri Long and donor parents Jesus and Mindy Cruz talk about organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation during a one-hour radio program, “Good News Radio Magazine”. The show airs 1-2 p.m. each Wednesday on KTYM 1460AM in Los Angeles.

Play the video above to listen to the program in its entirety. During the program, Charlene talks about why it is important to maintain an organ and tissue donor registry and the various ways in which people can register to be donors in California. She explains that there are more than 22,000 people in California alone who are waiting for transplants. Charlene also gives details about who can register, the various organs and tissues that can be donated, and quality of life for recipients and living donors. Terri Long shares her experience in regards to being a liver transplant recipient. She talks about her feelings in dealing with the notion that a family lost a loved one and she was the recipient of the donated organ. Mindy and Jesus Cruz share their story as parents of a donor. Their son Jesus “Jesse” Cruz collapsed one day and was not able to be saved, Jesse had registered to donate a few years before and was a candidate to be a tissue donor. Mindy and Jesus Cruz describe how their family talked about being donors and honoring those decisions for each other.

Terri Long shares her experience in regards to being a liver transplant recipient. She talks about her feelings in dealing with the notion that a family lost a loved one and she was the recipient of the donated organ.

Mindy and Jesus Cruz share their story as parents of a donor. Their son Jesus “Jesse” Cruz collapsed one day and was not able to be saved, Jesse had registered to donate a few years before and was a candidate to be a tissue donor. Mindy and Jesus Cruz describe how their family talked about being donors and honoring those decisions for each other.

To sign up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor in California, be sure to check “YES!” every time at the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). You can also sign up at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org.

28 Oct

By
Administrator

in
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®.

In its 12^th 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.”

“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®:

The 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.