AVMC Honors Donors and Recipients During “Donate Life Month”

Hospital staff share the importance of Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation

(LANCASTER, CA – May 2, 2024) – Antelope Valley Medical Center (AVMC), in partnership with OneLegacy, the organ, eye and tissue recovery organization serving the greater Los Angeles area, joined thousands of hospitals around the nation to recognize and honor donors and recipients during National Donate Life Month. AVMC staff participated in activities designed to help inspire people in the U.S. to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those that have saved lives through the gift of donation.

AVMC participated in the OneLegacy Donate Life Run/Walk and Blue and Green Day, where hospital employees were encouraged to wear blue and green – the official colors of Donate Life – to call attention to the power of organ donation and the need for others to register to be donors. AVMC had the privilege to have Raul Sansores onsite to share his story as a recipient, after receiving the news he had end-stage liver disease. Although he’s never met his donor family, he wrote in part, “... you’ve changed me, I’ll bring as much happiness and joy, I’ll uplift, I’ll mentor, I’ll teach…I’ll keep doing that all over again.”

In California alone, more than 20,000 people are waiting to receive lifesaving organ transplants, but there are simply not enough donors to meet the growing need. A single organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people and improve the lives of as many as 75 more by donating their corneas and tissue. Becoming a donor is easy; people may register at the local DMV or online at www.OneLegacy.org/Register.

“Last year, AVMC assisted with 2,400 lives healed, 29 lives saved, and the gift of sight restored to 48 recipients, this could not be possible without the heroism of donors and their families. Our goal is to continue increasing awareness and inspiring others on the importance of organ donation, ultimately to provide many more people a second chance at life,” said Edward Mirzabegian, Antelope Valley Medical Center CEO.

About Antelope Valley Medical Center

Antelope Valley Medical Center (AVMC), the only full-service, acute-care hospital located in Lancaster, CA. AVMC has been delivering exceptional care to the community since 1955. It offers the region’s only Level II Trauma Center, Pediatric unit, Level IIIB NICU, Inpatient Behavioral Health Department, Labor and Delivery, Accredited Chest Pain Center/STEMI Receiving Center, Advanced Primary & Comprehensive Stroke Center, a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center, and a Thrombectomy Capable Center. More information is available at www.avmc.org or by calling (661) 949-5000. Follow us @avmedicalcenter