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12 Oct

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DMV Partnership Rose Parade

Meet Our 2018 Rose Parade Honoree

Each year, to thank the California Department of Motor Vehicles for their ongoing support of organ, eye and tissue donation, Donate Life California selects a Rose Parade Honoree who is a donor with ties to the DMV.

Our honoree is included on the annual Donate Life Rose Parade Float, which is sponsored by dozens of Donate Life related organizations from around the nation.

We’re happy to share with you that this year’s Rose Parade Honoree by Donate Life California will be tissue donor Steve Sepulveda, whose sister-in-law Adriana Murrufo-Burton works at the Pomona Field Office.

Honoring Our Heroes at the Rose Parade

Steve will be one of 44 donors honored on the 2019 Donate Life Rose Parade Float. The float’s theme, Rhythm of the Heart, honors music as the universal language that unites and heals people from different cultures and walks of life. Organ recipients, living donors and donor families will find this theme very close to their hearts.

This year marks the 16th year that the Donate Life Rose Parade Float continues its mission to save and heal lives by sharing the gift of life and delivering the message of organ, eye and tissue donation to the world. Families of deceased donors are honored to see their loved ones’ floral images highlighted as part of the float. Living donors and recipients bring the float to life by riding or walking beside the float. This year’s parade theme, The Melody of Life, celebrates the power of music – the universal language – in bringing us together.

The power of music can bring healing to donors and recipients alike, as well as hope to millions of people who will watch the Donate Life float on January 1, 2019, as it rides through the streets of Pasadena.

Learn About This Year’s Rose Parade Honoree

Steve Sepulveda was born January 10, 1969, in El Paso TX. He was raised in and lived in Los Angeles until his passing on July 7, 2013 at the age of 44. Steve was a great son, a wonderful father and an amazing husband. He left behind two daughters, his wife, his mother and two siblings.

As a kid, Steve had a lot of energy and loved to play sports. He played high school football and basketball and attended Humboldt University after graduating. Steve and his spouse were school friends while in elementary school and remained friends through high school. It wasn’t until after college that they began dating. He was married for 17 years and had two  beautiful young daughters.

Steve lost his father in 1987 and became a support system for his younger sibling and mother. He enjoyed family time, golf, camping, taking his girls to the parks and pools, and dates with his wife.

Steve passed from an enlarged heart and his family likes to tell people “Steve had a big heart.” This showed in his decision to become a donor. He was the type of person that if you needed help with anything, he would do what he could to be of assistance in any way. Steve would feel comfort in knowing his donation helped others. His family knows he is no longer with them, but in a way, he is still part of this world.

Saying Thank You to Our DMV Partners

Over the past years, Donate Life California has honored a variety of DMV employees, family members, and others who gave the gift of life. The mission of organ, eye and tissue donation is close to the heart of DMV employees.

Each year, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles signs up hundreds of thousands of new registered organ, eye and tissue donors. In total, registrations by the DMV make up over 95% of the entire registry.

It is not exaggerating to say that we would not be able to do the life-saving work of organ, eye and tissue donation without our ongoing partnership with the California DMV.

Next time you are in the DMV take a quick second to say thank you to the DMV employees who are doing this work each day.

Join us in Honoring Steve and All Our Heroes on New Year’s Day!

We hope you’ll turn on the television and tune in on New Year’s morning to the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. And keep your eye out for the Donate Life Rose Parade Float, our honoree Steve, and the many donors and recipients who will be celebrating the “Rhythm of the Heart.”

26 Sep

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Celebrating DMV Appreciation Week in California

While all of us at Donate Life California are thankful for the work the California Department of Motor Vehicles does each and every day, this week the Donate Life community is celebrating DMV Appreciation Week across the nation.

Each year, the California DMV is registering hundreds of thousands of new organ and tissue donors, making up over 95% of the donors in our registry. Without our decades-long partnership with the DMV, we’d have been unable to grow the largest registry in the country.

Saving Thousands of Lives Each Year

While a pink dot might not seem like it changes lives, the numbers are clear. Since the creation of the registry in 2006, over 43,938 individuals have received lifesaving transplants in California. There is no question that all of our recipients are sharing their DMV appreciation around the state this week.

This year over 2,700 individuals have already had their lives changed by receiving transplants. This work wouldn’t be possible without the efforts that staff around the state at our DMV put in each day.

Supporting Donate Life All Year Long

Our DMV partners are supporting organ, eye and tissue donation all year long. Their passion to share the impact of donation doesn’t go unnoticed by all of us at Donate Life California.

Whether they are supporting Donate Life on Blue & Green Day, helping to decorate the Donate Life Rose Parade Float, or signing up donors each day their passion makes all the difference. So during DMV Appreciation Week, we want to say a huge THANK YOU!

Donate Life Rose Parade Float California DMV Collaboration

Over 40 Years of Partnership

The California DMV’s passion for supporting organ, eye and tissue donation isn’t anything new. They’ve been helping to increase donation for over four decades. It all started with the pink dot and continues today through the largest registry of organ, eye and tissue donors in the country.

With all the hard work of our DMV partners, the California Organ and Tissue Registry will reach more than 15 million registered donors before the end of 2018. This is an outstanding milestone and we can’t say thank you enough to show our DMV appreciation.

Saying Thank You During DMV Appreciation Week

This week ambassadors and staff around the state from our local OPOs sent thank you notes to their local DMV offices and you can check out a handful of them in the video below.


Check out more videos by Lifesharing here. 

We hope you will join us during DMV Appreciation Week to say thank you for the work that all the staff at the California DMV do each day. Their work is saving lives around the state and country.

14 Sep

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News

Let’s Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month!

September 15th marks the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month! This month, we celebrate the achievements of the Hispanic community throughout the United States, while also underscoring their importance to the organ donor and transplant community.

Hispanic Heritage Month.

Because of the generosity of our organ and tissue donors, nearly 5,500 people received a life-saving transplant in the United States last year. People like Alfonso Garcia (pictured below), receive a second chance of life because of your decision to be an organ donor.

Alfonso was the youngest of three brothers who began to grow sick in early 2010. His doctors discovered a previously undiagnosed genetic disorder that was causing his liver to suddenly start failing, leaving him with days to live.

The miracle Alfonso needed came 24 hours later, as he was given a new liver thanks to his organ donor. As of 2016, Alfonso graduated from the University of San Francisco and has given back hundreds of hours to the organ donation community in California.

Alfonso Garcia graduating from University of San Francisco, 2016.

Hispanic Heritage Month Highlights the Need for Hispanic Donors

While thousands of lives like Alfonso’s were able to be saved last year, there is still a need for more donors, especially minority donors. Recipients have the greatest chance of having a successful organ transplant if their donor is the same ethnicity.

One of the biggest hurdles facing Hispanics who are on the transplant waiting list is gap between Hispanic donors and persons on the transplant waiting list. Almost 20% of persons waiting for transplants are Hispanic, while less than 14% of all donors in 2017 were Hispanic.

Amalia and her grandchildren.

Myths surrounding organ and tissue donation tend to disproportionately affect minority communities, Hispanics included. Common myths include that their religion prevents them from donating (almost major religions do not oppose donation) or that being a donor would prevent you from receiving the proper care in a life or death situation.

What Can You Do to Help?

There’s no better way to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month than by signing up to be a donor! Registering as a donor is as simple as visiting our website or signing up at the DMV. Whenever you renew or apply for a new driver’s license or California identification card, remember to check mark “YES” when asked to be an organ donor.

Similarly, if you are connected to the Hispanic community, letting others knows about the gap in donors between ethnicities helps go a long way. With kidney transplants leading the way in most needed organ, Hispanics are three times more likely to suffer from end stage renal failure and diabetes. Propagating this information across social media and in your own communities goes a long way.

One donor's gift helps an entire community.

Finally, if you are registered to be an organ and tissue donor, we highly recommend that you let your family and loved ones know of your wishes. While it can be uncomfortable to talk about death, it is a very important conversation to have so that your loved ones know you wish to be a donor.

To register as a donor or for more information about how to get involved please visit our website or our Spanish website, www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org