Learn about giving 'gift of life' today at VacaValley, NorthBay hospitals
PUBLISHED BY THE REPORTER
Posted: 04/11/2011 01:07:04 AM PDT

In honor of National Donate Life month, NorthBay Healthcare and the California Donor Transplant Network are sponsoring an information table today about giving the "gift of life."

Anyone interested in becoming an organ donor or learning more about organ donation is invited to stop by NorthBay Medical Center or VacaValley Hospital and ask questions.

In 2010, NorthBay Medical Center referred 15 potential donors, and as a result, three organs were provided to people in desperate need of transplants, said Julie Gabbard, donation services liaison with the California Donor Transplant Network.

The California Donor Transplant Network is an agency designated by the federal government to link donor families with area transplant centers. The network and its partner hospitals work to increase awareness about the many people waiting for organ and tissue donations.

For organs alone, there are about 21,000 people in the state waiting to receive a transplant, according to the agency. Nationally, the list includes more than 110,000 names.

Sadly, about 18 people on the list die each day because they did not get the organ they needed, Gabbard said.

The information table will be set up from 8 a.m. to noon in the lobby at NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield, and from 1 to 4 p.m. in the cafe at VacaValley Hospital in Vacaville.

For more information about the California Transplant Donor Network, visit www.ctdn.org or call (888) 570-9400.