SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 8, 2014 – 11 MILLION CALIFORNIANS are registered organ, eye and tissue donors. With this new milestone, California broadens its footprint as the largest organ, eye and tissue donor registry in the country and the world.

Donate Life California, which manages the state-authorized donor registry, joined the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) today to announce this milestone and to kick off National Donate Life Month. Each year in April, Donate Life organizations in all 50 states participate in a nationwide campaign to inspire their communities to register as organ, eye and tissue donors to save and improve lives.

“Today, we celebrate and thank each and every one of the 11 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 21,000 people who wait for the gift of life in California. 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. Even with our milestone number of 11 million registrations, only one out of every three adults in California is a registered donor. I encourage all Californians to register today to give hope to those who wait.”

The continued growth of the registry gives hope to the countless families who depend on the altruistic kindness of strangers to extend the lives of their loved ones.

Luca Salcone, liver recipient

“An organ donor hero saved my son’s life,” said Katie Salcone of Folsom. “We almost lost Luca, but thanks to a liver transplant in the eleventh hour, we get to watch him grow up. I don’t know how we’ll ever adequately thank our donor or his/her family. We share our story with the hope that everyone will register as a donor at the DMV or online – it’s truly a life-saving opportunity.”

Three years ago, Katie and Chris Salcone were told their 18-month-old son, Luca, needed a liver transplant immediately. Without it, he had only days, if not hours, to live. But, his chances of a liver match being found in time were very, very slim. Against all odds, a match was found that very night, thanks to someone saying “yes” to organ donation.

In California, residents can join the registry by checking “YES!” at the DMV or signing up online at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org.

“The DMV is proud to partner with Donate Life California. Organ and tissue donation gives people from all walks of life a second chance at life,” said Jean Shiomoto, DMV Director. “The ability to impact organ and tissue donation through the DMV process is our privilege and responsibility. We are honored to be an instrumental part of saving and healing lives.”

The DMV is an important Donate Life California partner, with 95 percent of California’s 11 million registered organ, eye and tissue donors having checked “YES!” while applying for or renewing their California driver license or ID.

California Assembly Speaker John Pérez also joined Donate Life California and the DMV in celebrating the 11 million registry milestone. Speaker Pérez is a long-standing supporter of Donate Life California and a proud donor son. His father became an organ donor when he passed away a few years ago.

“I am deeply grateful for the work that Donate Life California and their volunteers do every single day,” said Speaker Pérez. “The work they do makes a profound difference in the lives of the people on the waiting list and their families. Our state has the largest population of folks needing an organ transplant, and Donate Life California helps spread the message that all of us have the opportunity to give someone a new lease on life by becoming an organ donor. I am proud of the work they do to spread this vital message to every Californian.”

Fast Facts:

• In 2013, organ, eye and tissue donors in California saved more than 3,000 lives, and improved thousands more with eye and tissue donation.
• 18 people across the country die each day awaiting life-saving organ transplants.
• More than 21,000 people (about 20 percent of the national list) who wait for a life-saving organ transplant live in California.

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.

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.

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.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 21, 2014 – Donate Life California, the nonprofit state-authorized organ and tissue donor registry, participated in the 51st California Hospital Volunteer Leadership Conference hosted by California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (CAHHS) in Sacramento, Calif., Feb. 18 – 21, 2014. Along with the state’s four federally authorized organ procurement organizations (OPOs), Donate Life California called on hospital volunteers to support its mission to save lives by inspiring Californians to register as organ, eye and tissue donors by demonstrating:

– How hospitals can and do support organ, eye and tissue donation.
– How volunteers can inspire Californians to save lives by registering as organ, eye and tissue donors.
– What transplant recipients and donor families need from hospital volunteers.

Donate Life California hopes volunteers will:

– Register as organ, eye and tissue donors at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org and encourage five others to sign up as well.
– Contact their local OPOs to get involved.
– Utilize Donate Life California resources.

“We are grateful to CAHHS for this opportunity to educate hospital volunteers about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation,” says Charlene Zettel, CEO of Donate Life California. “More than 21,000 Californians are awaiting life-saving organ transplants. Sadly, many will die waiting. But through our partnership with CAHHS, we can give hope to those on the transplant waiting list.”

About Donate Life California:
The Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry is the nonprofit, state-authorized organ, eye and tissue donor registry. Registrations are recorded in a confidential database that is only 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 (formerly CTDN), Lifesharing, OneLegacy and Sierra Donor Services.

Fast Facts from Donate Life California:
– One organ donor can save up to eight lives, one tissue donor can enhance the lives of 50 people.
– 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 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.

Donor Network West , third largest nonprofit in the country devoted to saving and improving lives through donation, had more than 2,000 tissue donors in 2013, meaning corneas for the sight impaired and skin for burn victims, among others. Also recovered more than 900 organs for transplantation.

Oakland, Calif., Jan. 24, 2014 – Donor Network West completed its fourth year as a tissue recovery agency with a new high mark of 2,006 eye and tissue donors in 2013, helping to save and improve an estimated 83,000 lives.

Established for more than a quarter century as an organ recovery organization in Northern and Central California and Northern Nevada, the Donor Network West (formerly CTDN) also successfully worked with 281 organ donors and their families in 2013, saving lives with 920 organs transplanted.

CTDN continued its robust program of aiding researchers focused on projects to improve public health and the transplantation process. In 2013, through the compassion of donor families, about 250 additional organs were made available for medical education research. About three-quarters of families asked agreed to participate in research.

“Our work is only possible with the cooperation of the more than 170 hospitals, dozens of coroners’ offices and hundreds of funeral homes as well as four transplant centers which partner with us to refer possible donors. Because of them, and a CTDN staff committed to maximize every donation opportunity, we can offer hope to those waiting for a transplant,” Cindy Siljestrom, Chief Executive Officer for the Donor Network West .

The CTDN Operations Center – where calls to refer potential organ and tissue donors are first received – logged more than 500,000 calls in 2013, reaching a milestone only a year after it became fully operational.

Working in two states and serving 13 million people, CTDN pursues a mandate to educate the public about organ and tissue donation, in addition to supporting donor families and arranging for the recovery and placement of organs and tissues. CTDN is the third largest organ procurement organization in the country based on population in its service area.

CTDN set a goal to increase the number of people registered as donors in that area by 5 percent in 2013. Instead, the numbers of people who have said “Yes” to donation at the DMV in the CTDN service area increased by 13 percent in 2013, meaning 3.9 million people have now registered as donors.

CTDN’s effort continue to focus on the needs of those who are waiting for an organ transplant –more than 23,000 in California and Nevada– as well as those whose lives will be improved with a tissue donation, such as corneas to restore someone’s sight.

Each of the nearly 300 people at CTDN work daily to provide expertise and exceptional service to the hospitals, coroners, funeral homes and transplant centers in support of families. Their work honors the gifts donors and their families place in our 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 170 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, coordinates deceased organ and tissue recovery and placement to waiting transplant recipients. Through its public education efforts, the hope that every resident will chose to become a donor is possible. The Donor Network West is federally designated as the region’s organ recovery organization. For information, call 888-570-9400 or visit http://www.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.