NEW DMV ORGAN POLICY A LIFE-GIVER.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
This is what you need to know about the new partnership between the Donate Life California Registry and the Department of Motor Vehicles In the United States of America, Department of Motor Vehicles (or DMV) is a commonly used name of the government agency of a U.S. state which administers the registration of automobiles (e.g., by issuing license plates), and/or the licensing of drivers (e.g. , say local organ-transplant recipients Glenda Rosenbloom, Jackie Colleran and Ron Taubman: Not as many people will be dying too young. ``I've watched too many friends die while they were waiting for an organ donation Organ donation is the removal of the tissues of the human body from a person who has recently died, or from a living donor, for the purpose of transplanting or grafting them into other persons. that never came,'' said Rosenbloom, who underwent a kidney transplant kidney transplant or renal transplant Replacement of a diseased or damaged kidney with one from a living relative or a legally dead donor. The former's tissue type is more likely to match, reducing the chance of rejection; but removal puts the donor at risk, in 2001. ``To think that so many more people will have a second chance at life now gives me goose bumps goose bumps or goose pimples: see gooseflesh. .'' She's not alone. A lot of people in the state's four major organ-procurement organizations are getting goose bumps because of the number of Californians checking the box when they renew their driver's license Noun 1. driver's license - a license authorizing the bearer to drive a motor vehicle driver's licence, driving licence, driving license license, permit, licence - a legal document giving official permission to do something , agreeing to be an organ and tissue donor. It shows that most people will do the right thing if you simplify the process. ``Since we started July 1, about 70 percent of all people renewing or getting a new driver's license have checked the `yes' box,'' said George Valverde, director of the Department of Motor Vehicles. ``If you consider there are about 23 million drivers in this state, that's upwards of 17 million people willing to be organ and tissue donors after they die. That's pretty incredible.'' Goose-bump incredible, says Tracy Bryan, president of Donate Life California. ``The new DMV DMV abbr. Department of Motor Vehicles process brings us a 700 percent increase in potential donors, which is tremendously good news to the 18,000 Californians -- 92,000 people nationwide -- now waiting for a second chance. ``As of (Monday), we've had 300,000 more people sign up on the donor registry.'' The former system of having potential organ donors put a pink dot sticker on their driver's license and carry a donor card donor card n. A card, usually carried on one's person, authorizing the use of one's bodily organs for transplantation in the event of one's death. was ineffective, said Taubman, a kidney recipient and president of the San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Valley/Ventura chapter of TRIO -- Transplant Recipient International Organization. ``The pink sticker would fall off or people didn't carry their donor card in their wallet,'' he said. ``We'd have to seek consent from next of kin The blood relatives entitled by law to inherit the property of a person who dies without leaving a valid will, although the term is sometimes interpreted to include a relationship existing by reason of marriage. Cross-references Descent and Distribution. , who often didn't know their loved one's wishes to be a donor because they never talked about it with their family.'' Also, in cases of fatal traffic accidents and other emergencies, wallets and purses with driver's licenses often never got to the emergency room with the victim so hospital staffers didn't know that the person wanted to donate organs. Now, the law allows a simple check in the yes box at the DMV, and the person is automatically placed on the Donate Life California Registry. Or, you can go online at www.donatelifecalifornia.org to register. In the Latino community, which has a severe shortage of potential organ donors, see www.donevidacalifornia.org ``It also makes it easier for their families because now they won't have to agonize at such a tough time about the wishes of their loved one because it's right there, all signed and legal,'' said liver-transplant recipient Jackie Colleran of Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . ``It means a lot of us won't have to go to as many funerals anymore,'' added the 65-year-old retired school nurse. Also, the expanded donor registry means the 18,000 Californians awaiting an organ donation have a much better chance at getting one than Rosenbloom did only five years ago. She and her husband, Alan, and their dog, Charlie, moved from Woodland Hills to Scottsdale, Ariz., because her chances of getting a kidney there were better than in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . ``I had my hospital bag packed and waiting by the front door for 22 months,'' she said. ``You can't imagine how tough it is waiting for that call every day, not knowing if you're going to live or die.'' Glenda's call came at 1:43 on a May morning in 2001. A young man had died in New Mexico. She was getting one of his kidneys. ``I think about him every day,'' Glenda says. ``His gift was a continuation of his life -- and mine.'' The Donate Life California Registry. Heck of a legacy to leave. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Donor recipients, from left, Glenda Rosenbloom, Ron Taubman and Jackie Colleran hope others will have successes like theirs through the state's new donor-organ registration program. Rosenbloom received a liver, Taubman a kidney and pancreas, and Colleran a liver. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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