UPDATE: Milestone Reached by OneLegacy's East Coast Counterpart Gift of Life Means More Lives Saved by Organ Donation in 2015
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - December 23, 2015) - OneLegacy, the non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ, eye and tissue donation serving the seven-county Los Angeles area, today updated its recent announcement that it had broken the 2014 national record for organ donations coordinated in a single year by an Organ Procurement Organization (OPO), noting that Philadelphia-based OPO Gift of Life has also surpassed the 2014 number.
As of the latest reported count, the Gift of Life program has coordinated 452 donors in 2015, while OneLegacy has coordinated 450. Gift of Life set the previous single-year record, 447, in 2014, but that mark now has now been exceeded by both OPOs.
"Setting the record for organ donations coordinated by an Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) might come down to the last day of the year," said Tom Mone, Chief Executive Officer of OneLegacy. "This is not a race between OPOs, but rather a race to save lives. No matter which OPO ends up with the 2015 record, the real winners are the more than 122,000 people across the country waiting to receive a transplant."
"According to the most recent national statistics, deceased organ donation is up almost 6 percent this year compared with 2014," Mone added. "And while I am proud of OneLegacy, Gift of Life and other colleagues around the country, the real heroes who are making this achievement possible are the millions of Americans who are saving lives by registering as donors and the donor families who have chosen to leave a legacy of life."
"We are pleased to have colleagues like Gift of Life, whose record-setting performance is inspiring OPOs like OneLegacy to work even harder to save lives through organ, eye and tissue donations. Every donation and transplantation of a heart, lung, kidney or liver means the journey of life continues, thanks to the selfless decision by individuals and families to donate life."
For more information and to register as a donor, visit http://donatelifecalifornia.org/.
About OneLegacy
OneLegacy is the non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ, eye and tissue donation in seven counties in Southern California: Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Kern. Serving more than 200 hospitals, 11 transplant centers and a diverse population of nearly 20 million, OneLegacy is the largest organ, eye and tissue recovery organization in the world. For more information, call OneLegacy at (800) 786-4077 or visit www.onelegacy.org
