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Tag Archives: Tissue Donation

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.”

18 Oct

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Become A Donor to Support Breast Cancer Survivors

In the donation community, we often speak about how being a donor can save lives of those in need of organ transplants. We talk about diseases like kidney, liver, and heart failure and how being a donor can give someone a second chance at life.

One thing we don’t talk as much about is the role in changing lives that being a tissue donor can have. In October, this focus turns to how tissue donors are changing the lives of breast cancer survivors. Registering today as a donor can help breast cancer survivors heal and move forward with their lives.

One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her life. That means in 2017, over 252,700 cases will be diagnosed. Thankfully, survival rates have been increasing since 1989 and we continue to see advancements in treatment. Many of these women will require surgery and for many, reconstructions with a tissue donation is their best option.

We can work to help support these survivors by signing up to be an organ and tissue donor, where you are able to help ten different breast cancer survivors in their greatest time of need.

A Survivor’s Story

A cancer diagnosis is one of the most shocking things you can receive. Thankfully, today it is not always life-threatening, but there is no doubt it is always life-altering.

Even as you move into recovery, there are many things that have changed both physically and emotionally. Breast cancer survivor Kate Kane shares how her breast reconstruction surgery changed her life with AOPO.

“I can’t imagine having gone through what I went through and having that be a turning point in my life where I have to stop doing the things that I did, not just for my overall health and well-being, but as my social life. I’m so grateful that I was able to do that. The cancer didn’t get me and the reconstruction brought me back to my life.”

Support Survivors During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This month, you will see many ways to donate and support research for breast cancer. You will have the opportunity to support survivors in many ways. We hope you will also take a quick moment to support these survivors by signing up as an organ and tissue donor today.

Already signed up as a donor? You can help by sharing your story of why you’ve become a donor with your family and friends. They may not know that being a tissue donor can provide life-changing support to breast cancer survivors. Being open about your choice to be a donor creates a ripple effect of change!

Find out about one of our #StoriesofHope, Joshua San Pedro, who was able to change the lives of breast cancer survivors and others as a tissue donor here.

Breast Cancer Survivors Supporting Donation

Many breast cancer survivors are tissue recipients themselves, and they have now gone on to tell the story of how it changed their lives and why others should sign up as donors.

And many of them continue to be donors themselves. Having cancer does not disqualify you from being a donor and many women are giving back the #GiftOfLife they received.

Myth: I can’t be a donor if I’ve had cancer.
Truth: Cancer does not rule you out. You can always register to be a donor.

A beautiful story was shared by Sierra Donor Services of a breast cancer survivor learning she can pass it on as an organ & tissue donor.

Join Donate Life California in celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October and Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Day on October 18th by signing up as a donor and sharing your story!