DONATE LIFE - INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS - GERMANY'S ALEX O'LOUGHLIN'S FAN CLUB - THREE RIVERS

Sabine Atkins, the US correspondent for the Alex O'Loughlin German fan club alerted us to their groups' Donate Life organ, eye and tissue donation awareness campaign in Germany. Their site is in German however the english translation is in English. Please visit our friends in Germany website, link below. Thank you Sabine for visiting and letting us know about your groups efforts to raise awareness for donation and for supporting Three Rivers.

Honoring Alex O'Loughlin

We have started a donation campaign benefiting organ donation organizations to honor Alex as spokesperson for Donate Life America. With this campaign we can show Alex how much we support him. You can donate to the German organ donation organization "FÜRS LEBEN. FÜR ORGANSPENDE" (an initiative of Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation):
http://www.fuers-leben.de/index.php/requests/sponsor/n,40

The German Alex O'Loughlin Fan Club does not collect donations! We only need the confirmation forms of your contributions in order to inform Alex about your support. If you want to make a financial contribution, please visit the official websites of the organ donation organizations. We cannot guarantee that Alex will react to our campaign. Please only send confirmation forms (as image file or text) to Sabine. sabine.atkins@gmail.com

Please include the following subject line: Alex - Three Rivers -Organspende-Aktion. She will provide us with a confirmation as soon as she has sent your contribution information to Alex. Please consider becoming an organ donor as well.

Partner

http://alexoloughlinfordonatelife.blogspot.com/

Please visit the German Alex O'Loughlin fan club website HERE

DONATE LIFE CONCERT SERIES @ THE AMERICANA @ BRAND - FEATURING MARIE DIGBY WITH SPECIAL GUEST ARTIST ALL-4-ONE, OCT 3RD 7PM

DONATE LIFE FREE CONCERT SERIES

Featuring

MARIE DIGBY

" Avalanche"

Guest Artists

ALL-4-ONE

"When I Needed and Angel"

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3 @ 7 PM

THE AMERICANA

GLENDALE, CA

Please join Donate Life on October 3, 2009 for our Donate Life Concert featuring artist Marie Digby featuring songs from her new CD "Breathing Underwater". There will be a CD signing at Barnes & Noble after the show.

Our special guest artist is All-4-One, singing their latest hit, "When I Needed and Angel" from their new CD "No Regrets". As you know 40 cents of every download from the iTunes store will benefit Donate Life.


The entire concert is FREE so just show up early!


DONATE LIFE FREE VIP PASSES AVAILABLE BY CLICKING HERE. Pass will allow entrance into our special area set-up in front of the stage. Passes are on a first come first serve basis. Deadline is Wednesday as our VIP guest list names will be turned in at 6pm; we will need the names of each guest in your party.


Please stop by the Donate Life Booth for goodies and more information on becoming an organ, eye & tissue donor.
To register to become an organ donor please visit Donate Life California
To learn how to become a donor in your state please click HERE
To purchase Marie Digby's new album go to iTunes Store - album also available everywhere
To purchase All-4-One's new song "When I Needed an Angel" please go to iTunes store - 40 cents of every download benefits Donate Life.


SEE YOU AT THE DONATE LIFE CONCERT!!!!

Directions and more information on the http://www.americanaatbrand.com

DONATE LIFE - THREE RIVERS VIEWING PARTY, SUNDAY OCTOBER 4TH, CBS 9AM

Nancy from the Fans of Three River Organ Donor Campaign's asked us to invite our blog readers and every Three Rivers Fan to a viewing party on Sunday, October 4, 2009 @ 9m Pacific Time / Easter time, 8pm Central Time.

They will be holding a party and chat all day at the Fans of Three Rivers Organ Donation Campaign site. Entrance to watch the party and chat are open to all, but those who wish to do so are encouraged to donate a sum of their choosing to either:

The National Transplant Assistance Fund or to Donate Life America

Nancy also shared with us that they hosted a blood drive for the American Red Cross during the seasons run of "Moonlight". This is a very passionate group of individuals and we at Donate Life Organ & Tissue Donation Blog encourages you to support all of their endeavors.

To register to be an organ donor in California please visit Donate Life California

To learn how to become a donor in your state please click HERE

To participate in the viewing party please click on the Fans of Three Rivers Organ Donation Campaign link above. Please also thank them personally for helping the transplant community.

If you are aware of other viewing parties for the Three Rivers Premiere or are hosting a party yourself, please let us know so we may list all the parties after the show's premiere HERE

DONATE LIFE - HOW TO THROW A "THREE RIVERS" VIEWING PARTY FOR OCTOBER 4T

Here is a great idea on how to throw a viewing party for the premiere of CBS TV series "Three Rivers" staring Alex O'Loughlin from our friends at Living Legacy Fund.

It's A "Non-Event"

Join Us!

We are very excited about a new drama to air on TV this fall. Many of you may have seen the previews for a new CBS show called THREE RIVERS. It will premiere on Sunday, October 4^that 9:00 pm.

THREE RIVERS is a medical drama that goes inside the emotionally complex lives of organ donors, the recipients and the surgeons at the preeminent transplant hospital in the country, where every moment counts. Donate Life Hollywood has been working with CBS to craft story lines, promote the show and promote organ and tissue donation.

Living Legacy Fund “Non-Event” Fundraiser…
Three Rivers Viewing Party From Your Own Couch!

It is an easy and fun way to support the Living Legacy Fund – contribute $5 per person as an “admission fee”, relax on your couch with family and friends, watch THREE RIVERS, and join us in the largest viewing party Living Legacy Fund has ever seen!

If you would like to join in the viewing party, please follow the simple steps below:

1. Contribute $5 per person at https://www.donatelifetoday.com/contribute/

a. When filling in the contribution form, write that you are contributing to the THREE RIVERS viewing party in the comments field

2. On October 4^th pop popcorn, put on comfy clothes, and reserve your favorite spot on your couch

3. Tune into THREE RIVERS at 9:00PM on CBS

4. Visit the Living Legacy Fund Blog at www.livinglegacyfund.blogspot.comfollowing the viewing party to share your thoughts and dialogue with others across our region about THREE RIVERS

Please remember that this is TV, and they earn points for making a good drama. It may not always be accurate, but it gives us a chance to open a dialog about donation with a national audience. We are reaching out to our local CBS stations with information and will be ready to answer questions brought about by the show’s story lines.

Please share this opportunity with your family and friends.Please also feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you for joining us and for your continuing support of the Living Legacy Fund.

Contact Info:

Lyssa Cole

Development Program manager

425.201.6577

lyssac@lcnw.org

To learn more about the Living Legacy Fund and the great work that they do, please visit their BLOG.

If you are hosting viewing party please email us HERE so that we can list all of the Three Rivers viewing parties across the nation.

DONATE LIFE CALIFORNIA CO-SPONSORS THE LA VIDA MUSIC FESTIVAL @ THE FORD THEATRE HOLLYWOOD

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Donate Life California is co-sponsoring the La Vida Music Festival at the Ford Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, October 4, 2009 @ 7PM. For everyone who enjoys the hot steamy latin beats this festival is sure to get you up and dancing. Performers include the Louis Cruz Beltran Latin Jazz Orchestra, the Robert Kyle Band, Chris Bennet, the Brazilian Beat, and others.

To purchase your tickets please visit the Ford Theatre.

Please stop by the Donate Life Booth for more information on how to become a donor and for great give-a-ways. You may also visit Donate Life California for additional info.

To learn how to become a donor in your state please click HERE

PS: This is the same evening for the premiere of "Three Rivers" the CBS TV series all on organ donation. So if you are planning to attend the La Vida Festival, set your DVR to record "Three Rivers".

DONATE LIFE HOLLYWOOD - EMMY AWARD NEWS

Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie

Emmy goes to first time nominee Ken Howard for the HBO miniseries Grey Garden.

During his acceptance speech Ken gave out a shout-out to organ donation and to his kidney donor.

Thank you Ken for sharing your transplant story and for understanding the tremendous need for organ donation and for sharing it with your fellow colleagues in the arts. Would you consider becoming a Donate Life Ambassador? If so please contact Tenaya Wallace at Donate Life Hollywood

To register to be an organ donor in California please visit Donate Life California

To register to be a donor in your state please click HERE

DONATE LIFE ORGAN DONATION - "THREE RIVERS" CBS PREMIERE PARTY

At yesterday's CBS premiere party for their new fall line-up Alex O'Loughlin poses for pics proudly wearing his Donate Life pin. Thank you Tenaya Wallace from Donate Life Hollywood for helping Alex become a Donate Life Ambassador.

Below is a short clip with Alex at the premiere party

To become an organ donor in California please visit Donate Life California

To become a donor in your state please click HERE to learn how.

To learn more about Donate Life Hollywood and their great work please visit HERE

To watch the entire CBS fall premiere party clip please visit CBS

DONATE LIFE ORGAN DONATION - WHAT 6TH GRADER @ GRANT ELEMENTARY ARE DOING FOR DONATION

FROM WAOW NEWS CHANNEL 9 IN WAUSAU, WISCONSIN. FOR FULL STORY CLICK HERE

William Reigel, a transplant recipient says, "...if i think back before transplant I was so sick, it's just a new life... no questions about it."

17 years ago, Bill Reigel was blessed with a heart transplant. Since then, his daughter Cathy Kolpanen, a 6th grade teacher at Grant Elementary in Marshfield, made it her mission to get the word out about organ donation.

Cathy says, "... I've had children get married who have them in his life... and as you can tell it's very important."

So, Cathy started having her students collect pop top tabs, as a fundraiser for the "Second Chance at Life" support group at Marshfield Clinic.

The group offers guidance for those who have received, or are waiting for an organ transplant. This year the 6th graders have collected 95 pounds of pop tabs, and Dottie the Dot paid the students a special visit to accept their donation.

Kathy says, "it is amazing and it shows what students can do when they try and how compassionate they are when you give them a purpose and reason... they jump in."

Although the 6th graders are too young to decide if they want to be donors.. the goal is to make them aware of the importance of being an organ donor, when they grow up.

To learn more about organ donation in your state please click HERE

Commentary: It takes great ideas such as this to make significant differences in people's lives and the lessons learned by these 6th graders will last them a life time. There is hope for humanity.

DONATE LIFE HOLLYWOOD - FREE COMMUNITY EXCLUSIVE SCREENING OF D TOUR

You are invited to a FREE Community Exclusive Screening of D- Tour, a rock and roll film about life, death and bodily functions. D Tour will air nationally on the PBS Series Independent Lens in November 2009.

Pat Spurgeon has big dreams to make it as an indie rock musician. Just as his career is about to take off, he suffers an incredible setback when one of his kidneys begins to fail. Follow Pat on his emotional search for a living donor. But can he balance his health on dialysis with a rock n' roll lifestyle? Pat did receive his kidney in 2009. In an ironic twist, the band's former bassist, passed away in a tragic house fire in 2008 and went on to become a donor.

There will be a panel discussion with Donate Life Hollywood, National Kidney Foundation, Renal Support Network and Living Donors.

Preview clip below:

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 @ 7:30 pm

AERO Theatre

1328 Montana Ave

Santa Monica, CA 90403

RSVP to: KCET

Please visit Donate Life Hollywood to learn more about their great work

To become an organ donor in California visit Donate Life California

To become an organ donor in your state please click HERE

To learn more about kidney transplant please visit National Kidney Foundation

INTERNATIONAL ORGAN DONATION AWARENESS- CANADA -ORGAN DONATION - 1,700 IN ONTARIO ARE WAITING

Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto Takes Leadership role in Organ Donation as 1,700 people in Ontario are waiting

As Catholics, we’re often asked how we can get involved, get engaged, make a difference. This week, an unprecedented awareness campaign is being launched that will save lives. The Jewish, Muslim and Catholic communities are working in concert to help educate their members around the issue of organ & tissue donation.

Personally, I must say it is gratifying to see the initiative come to light. About 18 months ago, the Archbishop asked a representative of the Trillium Gift of Life, the agency tasked with coordinating organ donation in our province, to set up a meeting with our office to explore the issue more deeply.

Little did I know that would begin a journey that would culminate in the publication of a brochure, an education in organ & tissue donation, many drafts of materials and a final project, published by the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute that we hope will save lives.

The brochure can be accessed here, along with a series of other helpful resources that will educate Catholics from our faith perspective on the issue. This weekend, 200,000 copies of the brochure will be distributed in Catholic churches throughout the Archdiocese. It’s not just the Catholic community that is embracing the initiative.

The Canadian Council of Imams has mailed brochures from the Muslim perspective on donation to 45,000 Muslims in the region, and prayer calendars for Ramadan include pro-donation messages. The Toronto Board of Rabbis is also releasing an updated version of their brochure targeting Toronto's Jewish community.

In short, it’s time for all of us to have a conversation with our loved ones about organ & tissue donation and make our wishes known. It’s also time to act: taking the time to sign our organ donor cards and register to help facilitate the process. It doesn’t take but a few minutes and it could be one of the most impactful decisions one will ever make.

To read the whole story learn more about this initiative please visit the Archdiocese of Toronto Blog.

To register to be a donor in Ontario Canada please visit Trillium Gift of Life Network

DONATE LIFE ORGAN DONATION - "WE ARE NOT DOCTORS" CLIP FROM THREE RIVERS

Behind the scenes interviews with the cast of "Three Rivers" which is premiering here in Los Angeles on CBS, Sunday, October 4 at 9 pm PT / 8 pm CT.

Alex O'Loughlin starts in this drama about organ transplant in the top transplant hospital in the US.

Donate Life Hollywood's Tenaya Wallace, is consulting on the show preview scripts for its accurate portrayal of organ, eye and tissue donation.

Alex has been so inspired by the scripts that he is being trained as a Donate Life Ambassador to raise awareness for organ donation and to reinforce the many truths about saving lives.

Form your own viewing groups for the premiere and let us here at the Donate Life Organ & Tissue Blog know so we can publish a list of as many viewing groups taking place. Please email us HERE

For more show information please visit CBS.

Please visit Donate Life Hollywood for more information on their great work and the Donate Life Film Festival

DONATE LIFE CALIFORNIA DONOR REGISTRY TO BENEFIT IF GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER SIGNS BILL

GREAT UP DATE FROM CALIFORNIAS CAPITAL BLOG, Greg Lucas writes:

A measure was sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a unanimous vote.

Apparently, expanding the ability of California drivers to make organ and tissue donations is an issue that transcends partisan politics.

Approved 72 to 0 by the 80-member Assembly and 40 to 0 by the 40-member Senate, a measure by Assemblyman Dave Jones, a Sacramento Democrat, would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to create a hyperlink on its website to the state’s Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, known as Donate Life California.

The idea is to give drivers more opportunities to donate organs by giving them the option when they annually renew their vehicle registration on-line.

Currently, the only organ donation opportunity is when a Californian applies for a driver’s license or an ID card at the DMV. For most drivers, that happens once every five years.

According to Jones, just 23 percent of Californians are organ and tissue donors. States with the highest sign-ups average 58 percent. The national organ transplant waiting list has 100,000 persons on it, 20,000 of them Californians. Jones says 64 percent of organ transplant candidates in California are minorities of whom 71 percent are awaiting kidneys.

“Giving Californians an annual option to join the Donate Life California registry will increase the number of donors and help save the lives of thousands of people who are awaiting life-saving transplants,” Jones said in a press release announcing the measure, AB 1132, being sent to the GOP governor.

A 2001 bill by then state Sen. Jackie Speier, a Hillsborough Democrat, authorized creating an organ and tissue registry at the state Health And Human Services Agency. However, the agency never got funding for the registry and, in 2003, Speier carried another bill giving the task to a new non-profit entity.

That entity became Donate Life California, which sponsored Jones’ measure.

As with most bills now on his desk, Schwarzenegger has taken no position on AB 1132. Let us all contact the Governor's office to encourage him to sign the bill.

To become a donor in California visit Donate Life California

To learn more about donation or to sign up as a donor in your state please click HERE

DONATE LIFE ORGAN DONATION - CITY OF VANCOUVER,B.C. CANADA'S MAYOR ROBERTSON REGISTERS AS ORGAN DONOR

Mayor: Register as organ donor to help save lives Only 15 per cent of Vancouver's residents have registered on the BC Organ Donor Registry, which is lower than the provincial average of 17 per cent, according to Mayor Gregor Robertson. "Clearly we need to do a better job reminding our citizens that the most valuable items that one can recycle are organs that save lives," said Robertson, who helped kick off the City of Vancouver Organ Donor Awareness campaign today by having a 'Recycle your Organs' tattoo air-brushed on his arm. Read the full press release Above, left to right: Britta Watts (double lung recipient), Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, Jody Vance (Shore 104 FM) showing off their new "Recycle Yourself" tattoos at the kick-off event for the Vancouver Organ Donor Awareness Campaign on September 17th Schedule of other campaigns happening around town (PDF, 19 Kb) The goal: to increase awareness for organ donation and to encourage more people to register their decision on the Organ Donor Registry. Just 15% of Vancouverites have registered on the Organ Donor REgistry, lower than the provincial average of 17%, yet public opinion polls suggest 80% support organ donation. It only takes a few minutes to register and anyone can be a hero to the hundreds of British Columbians waiting for an organ transplant. Our special thanks to the following companies who will be participating in the Vancouver Campaign through the Give Life at Work program: City of Vancouver Canadian Blood Services Vancouver Fire Department Tourism Vancouver Sun-Rype Port Metro Vancouver To register to be a donor in British Columbia please visit www.transplant.bc.ca

DONATE LIFE ORGAN DONATION - PAUL ANDREW McDANIEL FOUNDATION RAISING STROKE AND ORGAN DONATION AWARENESS

Donate Life Organ Donation Blog receive an email from the parents of Paul Andrew McDaniel who died of a stroke Sept 14, 2008 donated four organs as well as tissue significantly changing the lives of many. This past Memorial Day weekend several of recipients participated in Paul's 5K run/walk honoring the legacy of Paul. Paul as you may have gathered was an avid rock climber.

The Paul A. McDaniel Foundation was establish to raise awareness for organ, eye & tissue donation and stroke education. His family are extremely active with the Mid-south Transplant Foundation of Memphis and have participated at the National Donor Ceremony in Washington DC this past July.

We want to congratulate the McDaniel family for the dedication to stroke education and organ, eye & tissue donation. They serve as an inspiration to all of us across the country to become active in encouraging people to register and become organ donors.

There are over 110,000 registrants on the national transplant wait-list, 18 people die every day without receiving a life saving transplant, approximately 120 people are being added to the wait-list daily.

You can make a difference! To register to become a donor in your state please click HERE

To learn more and contribute to the McDaniel Family efforts please visit the Paul A McDaniel Foundation

To learn more about strokes and it's risks please visit the National Stroke Association.

DONATE LIFE - ONELEGACY HONORED AT UNITED CAMBODIAN COMMUNITY 32ND ANNIVERSARY DINNER

Long Beach – The United Cambodian Community (UCC) celebrated its 32^nd Anniversary this past Thursday, September 10^th with a dinner and awards celebration.

The Organization, which offers an array of social services to residents of the Central Area and greater Long Beach, honored State Assemblyman Warren Furutani, Chan Hopson, Executive Director of the Khmer Parents Association, OneLegacy, a nonprofit transplant donor network and the Cambodian Coordinating Council.

Pictured accepting the Community Development Award is OneLegacy's CEO, Tom Mone and Sabrina Ho, OneLegacy’s Asian Community Development Coordinator. OneLegacy received the award for educating the Cambodian community about organ, eye and tissue donation, reinforcing the truths about donation and the importance of signing up to be a donor.

UCC was once the largest provider of social services for Cambodians in Southern California and it suffered some difficulties, the organization has been able to rebuild itself under the leadership of Executive Director, Sara Pol-Lim and her team who says it is well on the road to recovery.

In July, UCC received a $120,000 grant from the California Wellness Foundation for among other things heath services that help fight poor diet and nutrition, high rates of diabetes, cervical cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and other maladies among Cambodian immigrants.

To become a donor in California, please register at Donate Life California

To learn about becoming a donor in your state please click HERE

To learn more about OneLegacy and the great work that they do, please visit HERE

To learn more about the services provided by the United Cambodian Community please visit their website HERE.

DONATE LIFE - DONE VIDA @ THE MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE AND FESTIVAL

The City of Los Angeles has been proud to host a traditional Mexican Independence Day Parade since 1957, in recognition of the large Mexican population in the city. Traditionally held in East Los Angeles, some 200,000 people gather every year to celebrate Mexico's passage into a sovereign nation.

Donate LIfe (Done Vida) California marched in the parade in a big way with donor families (OneLegacy Ambassadores) holding up pictures of their loved ones who donated the gift of life.

There are over 19,000 hispanics on the national organ transplant wait list the majority of whom are waiting for a kidney. Overall there are over 110,000 registrants waiting for a life saving organ transplant.

You can make a difference by registering to be an organ,eye & tissue donor by visiting Donate Life California or Done Vida California.

To learn how to register to be a donor in your state please click HERE.

To download a higher resolution slide show movie please click HERE.

Photographer: Luis Ramirez, OneLegacy

DONATE LIFE ORGAN DONATION - A BOY'S GIFT TO THE WORLD 15 YEARS LATER

HOW THE MOST FAMOUS ORGAN DONOR IN THE WORLD CHANGED THE FACE OF ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION

Fifteen years later, it is a story that continues to touch the heartstrings of the world.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Seven year-old boy Nicholas Green was killed by highway robbers in 1994 while vacationing in Italy with his family. His parents, Reg and Maggie Green, agreed to donate his organs and corneas, which went to seven Italians waiting for transplants, four of them teenagers. Without the transplants two would be blind and most, if not all the others, dead.

The world took the story--and the Greens--to its heart and in Italy little Nicholas became a national hero. Now as October 1 marks the 15th anniversary of his death and the Green’s lifesaving decision, organ donations are at the front and center in medicine. Transplantation has become the treatment of choice as donor registries flourish in most states, helped by one little boy and his parent’s unending fight to bring donor awareness to the world.

Nicholas’ story continues to inspire, most recently through the 15th anniversary edition of Reg’s best selling book, The Nicholas Effect: A Boy’s Gift To the World. A noted journalist who now runs the Nicholas Green Foundation, his son’s death has been one of the key factors in bringing the subject of organ and tissue donation to public attention.

In a riveting, informative and poignant interview, Reg Green can reveal to your readers:

The Nicholas Effect: how one little boy has played a key role in changing the global face of organ and tissue donation
15 years later: an update on how the Green family has adjusted to the loss of their son and their tireless effort for donor awareness
The personal stories he has witnessed of hope, renewal and transformation through organ and tissue donation
The decision to donate: how to know if it is the right choice for you
Reg Green is the father of Nicholas Green, the seven-year old boy who was shot while he and his family were on a family vacation in Italy in 1994 and whose organs and corneas were donated to seven Italians, four of them teenagers. Green is a widely known and respected journalist having worked for a number of key newspapers – the London Times, the Guardian and was the chief business writer of the London Daily Telegraph before moving to the US. His family’s story and book, The Nicholas Effect were the basis for a made-for-television movie, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, called “Nicholas’ Gift,” for which she was nominated for an Emmy and has been shown worldwide to anywhere between 50 and 100 million people. Green now devotes all of his time to organ and tissue donation awareness and heads the Nicholas Green Foundation.

To learn more about Nicholas Green or to order the Nicholas Effect, please visit: Nicholas Green

To learn how to become an organ donor in your state please click HERE

UCSF - DONATE LIFE CALIFORNIA - LAUNCHES ORGAN DONATION CAMPAIGN

Organ Donation Advocates Share Stories, Work to Raise Awareness

By Robin Hindery

UCSF Heart and Vascular Center director Karen Rago, center, enjoys some fun in the sun with her sisters Barbara Lazenby, left, and Kay Roberts in April 2009, nearly 18 months after Roberts’s double lung transplant.

Over the past 30 years, Karen Rago, RN, has interacted with thousands of transplant patients and has watched organ transplantation evolve from a risky, often short-term solution into a procedure that can offer decades of greatly improved health.

But despite the huge role transplants have played in her professional life, they stayed far removed from her personal life — until recently.

“For so long, the thought that one of my family members would need a transplant never crossed my mind,” said Rago, executive director of UCSF service lines and the UCSF Heart and Vascular Center.

All of that changed a few years ago when her younger sister Kay Roberts, a longtime smoker, began having severe lung problems after a bout with pneumonia. Roberts was soon cycling in and out of the hospital and had to leave her job as a pre-school teacher in Atlanta.

“Eventually, her lung function was down to about 25 percent,” Rago said. “It was so hard to watch that happen to her. I tried to talk to her about being considered for a lung transplant, but I didn’t want to push too hard.”

After quitting smoking and discussing her options further with Kerry Kumar, RN, a transplant nurse-coordinator at UCSF, Roberts agreed to be evaluated for a lung transplant at Atlanta’s Emory Transplant Center. She was found to be a suitable candidate and after a mere eight days on the transplant list, she underwent a successful double lung transplant.

It has been two years since the surgery, and Roberts is now back to work and back to taking part in an annual “girls’ getaway” trip with Rago, their other sister Barbara and their mother.

“Her immune system will always be somewhat compromised, but she’s doing really well,” Rago said.

The experience has reaffirmed Rago’s support for organ donation, and she has encouraged all of her extended family members and their spouses to sign up as donors, she said.

Campaign Sets Ambitious Goal

Rago is also a driving force behind an online effort to enlist the entire UCSF community as organ donors. Today, (Sept. 14), the student group Coalition of Organ Donation Exponents (CODE), is launching a 10-week “eCampaign” to direct students, faculty and staff to the website of Donate Life California, a nonprofit organ and tissue donor registry. The campaign will run through Friday, Nov. 20.

There are currently 20,000 patients awaiting transplants in California, including 775 in San Francisco, according to Donate Life California. Every day, 18 patients die waiting for new organs.

A similar effort by CODE in April yielded 117 signups from UCSF — a higher number than all of the other regional organizations participating in the campaign, according to CODE’s leader, second-year medical student Patricia Zheng.

Zheng said she has received tremendous support for CODE’s efforts from Rago, as well as other members of the UCSF faculty and staff.

“I’ve also been amazed by the amount of dedication shown by UCSF transplant patients and their families, many of whom have been willing to share their stories to help increase awareness,” she said.

To read the full story please click HERE

UTAH'S DONATE LIFE COALITION- CELEBRATION OF LIFE MONUMENT UNVEILED

KSL TV CHANNEL 5, KSL NEWS RADIO 102.7 FM

August 29, 2009 Salt Lake City - Nearly 300 people who saved other's lives through death were honored Saturday at the Salt Lake City Library. Utah's Donate Life Coalition unveiled a monument dedicated to those who donated their organs, tissue and blood when they died.

The coalition added 287 names to the monument this year, bringing the total number of names on the wall to 3,285.

The Utah's Donate Life Coalition comprises of local healthcare facilities, agencies, foundations and organizations with the common goal of saving life through donation.

Their hard work and dedication to this goal - as well as the selfless donations from thousands of Utahns - inspired the Celebration of Life Monument.

Please visit the Utah Donate Life Coalition website to learn more and to make contributions to this outstanding collaborative effort.

To become an organ,eye & tissue donor in Utah, please visit Yes Utah!

To learn how to become an organ donor in your state click HERE

DONATE LIFE GEORGIA - STATE OF GEORGIA LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR REGISTRY

The Savannah Tribune, September 9, 2009

LifeLink of Georgia, the non-profit organ recovery agency, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Driver Services and Donate Life Georgia, a non-profit coalition of the state’s organ, tissue and eye donation and transplantation programs and other organizations with an interest in organ, tissue and eye donation announce the launch of the State’s new web-based organ and tissue donor registry.

The newly enacted Georgia Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA), also known as Senate Bill 405, allows residents to legally designate their wish to save lives as an organ and tissue donor from the comfort of their home by visiting www.donatelifegeorgia. org.

For years, Georgians were required to visit a local driver services office to register as an organ and tissue donor. Registration is still available at the driver services offices but individuals can now also choose to register anywhere that has internet access. Registrations are secure and registered donors will have the opportunity to update their profile or remove themselves from the registry.

“We are thankful to the authors of the Georgia Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act for sponsoring the bill in 2008. It now allows individuals the opportunity to save lives through donation,” said Kathleen Lilly, Sr. Vice President/Executive Director, LifeLink of Georgia. “We also want to thank the Georgia Department of Driver Services for working with LifeLink of Georgia and the donor registry team to facilitate the completion of this important technology.”

Close to 3,000 Georgians are waiting for an organ transplant and hundreds more wait for corneal and tissue transplants which can help restore vision, treat burns and prevent amputations, etc.

To learn more about the Donate Life Georgia Organ Tissue Donor Registry visit www.donatelifegeorgia.org or contact Donate Life Georgia at 1-866-57-SHARE (74273).

To learn how to become a donor in your state please click HERE