ONELEGACY HELPED TO SAVE AND HEAL MORE THAN 100,000 LIVES IN 2009

Congratulations to OneLegacy of California for their outstanding achievement in organ and tissue donation and transplantation in 2009. What is really impressive is the state donor registry having enrolled more than six million registered donors since opening in 2005 with 30,000 joining each week.

Leads Nation with 1,182 Recovered Organs Transplanted from 382 Donors; Nearly 2,400 Organ and Tissue Donors Benefit 100,000

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 19, 2010 – OneLegacy, the non-profit, federally designated organ and tissue recovery organization serving the seven-county greater Los Angeles area, announced the recovery of nearly 2,400 combined organ and tissue donors in 2009 which helped to save and heal more than 100,000 lives in Southern California and other U.S. regions.

Working in concert with more than 200 hospital partners, OneLegacy coordinated the recovery of 1,182 transplanted organs from 382 donors in 2009. OneLegacy also achieved its highest-ever organ donation consent rate of 69 percent, up two points from last year and 12 points from 2005.

“Less than 10 years ago, only half of families approached in hospitals gave consent for donation. Now, a full two-thirds of the families elect donation when given the chance to do so,” said Tom Mone, CEO and executive vice president at OneLegacy. “This upward trend is especially important given that we have been experiencing a downward trend in the number of possible donors. That makes every donation opportunity even more important – and every ‘yes’ that much more precious.”

Registered donors and families continued to support tissue donation in 2009, with a record 2,014 donors offering skin used for burn dressings, bone to repair fractures and to prevent amputation, heart valves to repair life-threatening defects, tendons to repair major knee injuries, veins for cardiac bypass surgery, and corneas to end blindness. More than 1,000 donors of corneas gave sight to 1,381 people in need.

“Most tissue recovered by OneLegacy returns to our area for medical procedures,” said Mone. “Given that corneas, bone and skin from a single donor can save and heal up to 50 people, we are proud to contribute to the wellness of so many in our diverse communities.”

Notably, through the first three quarters of 2009, approximately one in seven organ and tissue donors recovered by OneLegacy were registered donors who had signed up with the Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry prior to death. The state donor registry, which is co-managed by OneLegacy and the state’s three other organ recovery agencies, has enrolled more than six million registered donors since opening in 2005, with 30,000 joining each week.

“Thanks to the generosity of donors and their families, and the skill of healthcare professionals, waiting lists for all organs except kidneys are static or declining, while tissue donation is meeting our community’s needs,” said Mone. “However, the need for donated organs and tissues is ongoing, and we will continue to ensure that donor families and transplant recipients, their families and our community as a whole, benefit from the gift of organ, eye and tissue donation.”

OneLegacy is the non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ and tissue donation in the seven-county greater Los Angeles area. With more than 200 hospitals, 12 transplant centers and a diverse population of 19 million, OneLegacy is the largest organ and tissue recovery organization in the world.

Those wishing to make the commitment to donate may register online at http://www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or its Spanish-language counterpart, http://www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org. For more information, call OneLegacy at (800) 786-4077 or visit http://www.onelegacy.org.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be an organ and tissue donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.