LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OneLegacy, the local organ procurement organization that serves seven counties in Southern California, is joining thousands of organizations, hospitals, transplant centers and cities across the country to celebrate National Donate Life Month in April in an effort to inspire more people to register as organ, eye and tissue donors.
Nationwide more than 100,000 people are waiting to receive a lifesaving heart, liver, lung, kidney or pancreas transplant. In California alone nearly 20,000 people are on the waiting list, but there are simply not enough donors to meet the need as less than 1% of all deaths qualify for donation. A single organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people and improve the lives of as many as 75 more by donating their corneas and tissue.
National Donate Life Month recognizes the generosity of those who have saved and healed lives by becoming donors while also highlighting the critical need for more people to say “yes” to donation. In support of those goals, all month long OneLegacy will be spearheading a number of community outreach, education and awareness activities including:
- Flags Across America: OneLegacy is joining with organizations across the nation to rally every donor hospital and transplant center, as well as all recovery agencies, to raise the Donate Life flag during the month of April. The “Flags Across America” initiative started in 2009 to commemorate the cause and to honor those who have given the gift of life through donation.
- Blue and Green Spirit Week/Day: From April 16-22, OneLegacy will be celebrating Blue and Green Spirit Week with a series of activities in Southern California. On April 22, hospitals and transplant centers will join with OneLegacy in encouraging all employees to wear blue and green—the official colors of Donate Life—to call attention to the power of organ donation and the need for others to register to be donors. OneLegacy encourages local businesses and everyone in the community to show their support by wearing blue and green that day.
- DMV Partnership: OneLegacy has a longstanding successful partnership with the DMV to make it easy for people to register to be a donor. This has included a OneLegacy presence at numerous DMV locations throughout Southern California, with an emphasis on locations where the lowest donor registration rates exist. As part of National Donate Life Month, OneLegacy is partnering with Pastor William D. Smart, president and CEO of Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California, to visit local DMV offices and inspire DMV guests to say “YES” to organ, eye and tissue donation.
- Donor Registration Drive at UCLA and Local Schools: From April 1-30, UCLA is partnering with UC Berkley in Northern California for a friendly competition to share the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation with local students and register more donors in the Donate Life California registry.
- City Proclamations: During the month of April, OneLegacy is reaching out to hundreds of elected city and county officials to encourage them to issue proclamations for Donate Life Month. More than 200 OneLegacy Ambassadors are volunteering their time in April to adopt their local cities, share their stories of donation, and receive these special city and county proclamations.
- Donate Life Run/Walk: Throughout the month of April, OneLegacy will be encouraging people to register for the 20th annual Donate Life Run/Walk, to be held June 4 at Azusa Pacific University. After two years of virtual gatherings due to the pandemic, this event celebrating the power of donation and transplantation will return to an in-person affair with more than 12,000 people expected to attend. You can register at www.donateliferunwalk.org.
“Donation is about honoring and fulfilling a life cut short and celebrating the lives each donor saves and heals—a legacy of life for grateful recipients,” said Tom Mone, CEO of OneLegacy. “We are fortunate to partner with so many caring hospitals, transplant centers, community partners and city officials to mobilize, inform and inspire people across our many communities to register as donors during National Donate Life month and, by doing so, help save and heal lives.”
The opportunity to donate and to receive a lifesaving transplant knows no national, racial, ethnic nor religious boundaries nor sexual orientation; it simply helps those in greatest need. Becoming an eye, organ or tissue donor is easy and can be done by registering online at donateLIFEcalifornia.org/OneLegacy or by checking “YES” at your local DMV.
About OneLegacy
OneLegacy is the nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ, eye and tissue donation in seven counties in Southern California: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Kern. It serves more than 200 hospitals, 10 transplant centers, a diverse population of 20 million donors and families across the region and waiting recipients across the country. For more information, visit OneLegacy.org.
