Supervisors Urge Residents to Be Organ Donors

County officials on Tuesday urged residents to register to donate vital organs, in declaring April as DMV-Donate Life California Month.

"A single individual's donation of the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas and small intestine can save up to eight lives," said Supervisor Don Knabe, who recommended the April designation. "The donation of tissue can save and heal up to 50 others."

More than 21,000 Californians are waiting for an organ and one in three is expected to die due to the lack of life-saving donor, according to donation advocates.

Knabe, who represents the South Bay as part of his fourth district, welcomed Dr. Mason Sommers—a heart transplant recipient who acts as a Donate Life ambassador.

Sommers, a psychologist, said he had suffered from cardiac problems since he was 16 years old.

"Three years ago this month, I received the heart of a 23-year-old young man who unfortunately met an untimely death," Sommers said. "However, his generosity saved my life."

Sommers had suffered a heart attack and all his organs began shutting down. He was on life support for six months while waiting for a heart.

Though nearly 10 million California residents are registered as organ donors with the Department of Motor Vehicles, less than 1 percent will ultimately be in a position to donate, according to OneLegacy, a nonprofit that facilitates organ donations in Southern California.

Anyone interested in registering can do so at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org.