There are about 20,000 people in California waiting for an organ transplant to save their life. About 832 of those people live in Stanislaus County and about 18 people die every day waiting for a second chance at life.
California State University, Stanislaus is partnering with the California Transplant Donor Network to compete with other schools in hopes of getting as many people on the donor list as possible. They are calling this competition the Donate Life California Campus Challenge.
This is a nationwide competition that is being run through the schools, said Amparo Contreras, community affairs coordinator for the California Transplant Donor Network. All levels of higher education from junior college, to vocational schools to universities are competing. Nationwide, there are about 100 schools participating.
The challenge started Sept. 14 and will last until Nov. 20. The school with the most sign-ups will receive a trophy from Donate Life, Contreras said. “This is important because about 18 people die everyday just waiting for an organ,” she said. “We can work hard together to meet our goal.”
For CSU Stanislaus, the goal is to get 200 people to sign up to be an organ donor, Contreras said. Currently there are only six people on the sign-up list. Anyone can sign-up, not only students. When signing up, there is an option to choose a school to give credit for the organ donor.
Right now, San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton has over 150 sign-ups, she said.
On Oct. 7, Contreras is planning to have a “Donor Day” set-up with a booth on the CSU Stanislaus campus to get more sign-ups. Donor Day will be in the quad from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The blood bank and the California Transplant Donor Network will both be there. They will be giving a gift to all of those who sign-up.
“There are 103,948 people on the waiting list and about 20 percent of them are from California,” Contreras said. “One out of three will die waiting for a second chance.”
Those interested in becoming an organ donor, can sign up for CSU Stanislaus at www.donatelifecalifornia.org/csustanislaus.
To contact Maegan Martens, e-mail mmartens@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2015.
California State University, Stanislaus is partnering with the California Transplant Donor Network to compete with other schools in hopes of getting as many people on the donor list as possible. They are calling this competition the Donate Life California Campus Challenge.
This is a nationwide competition that is being run through the schools, said Amparo Contreras, community affairs coordinator for the California Transplant Donor Network. All levels of higher education from junior college, to vocational schools to universities are competing. Nationwide, there are about 100 schools participating.
The challenge started Sept. 14 and will last until Nov. 20. The school with the most sign-ups will receive a trophy from Donate Life, Contreras said. “This is important because about 18 people die everyday just waiting for an organ,” she said. “We can work hard together to meet our goal.”
For CSU Stanislaus, the goal is to get 200 people to sign up to be an organ donor, Contreras said. Currently there are only six people on the sign-up list. Anyone can sign-up, not only students. When signing up, there is an option to choose a school to give credit for the organ donor.
Right now, San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton has over 150 sign-ups, she said.
On Oct. 7, Contreras is planning to have a “Donor Day” set-up with a booth on the CSU Stanislaus campus to get more sign-ups. Donor Day will be in the quad from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The blood bank and the California Transplant Donor Network will both be there. They will be giving a gift to all of those who sign-up.
“There are 103,948 people on the waiting list and about 20 percent of them are from California,” Contreras said. “One out of three will die waiting for a second chance.”
Those interested in becoming an organ donor, can sign up for CSU Stanislaus at www.donatelifecalifornia.org/csustanislaus.
To contact Maegan Martens, e-mail mmartens@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2015.
