Donate Life California announces the Pink Dot Plate featuring the pink ‘DONOR dot’ is now called the Donate Life Plate and features the blue and green Donate Life logo, the national symbol for organ, eye and tissue donation. Reservations for this license plate are immediately available at www.DonateLifePlate.org.
The change to the Donate Life Plate is the result of overwhelming feedback from the state’s organ and tissue donation and transplant community that, while the pink ‘DONOR dot’ is a recognized symbol for organ, eye and tissue donation in California, the blue and green Donate Life logo is preferred nationwide amongst organ donation and transplant advocates.
Donate Life California needs to collect 7,500 paid reservations, the number required for the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to produce and distribute the license plates to those with reservations. After that, funds raised from the Donate Life Plate will help save and heal thousands of lives by allowing Donate Life California to expand its statewide education and outreach programs.
In 2013, those programs:
- Gave more than 3,000 organ transplant recipients in California a second chance at life, and improved the lives of thousands of tissue recipients.
- Helped Donate Life California reach more than 10 million signups on the organ, eye and tissue donor registry. (More than 11.3 million donors are registered as of Aug. 25, 2014.)
- Brought organ, eye and tissue donation education to more than 32,000 students in 183 high schools.
“Our work is far from over. Nearly 22,000 children and adults still await life-saving organ transplants in our state, and that list is growing,” said Cindy Siljestrom, President of Donate Life California. “Sadly, one-third of them won’t get their second chance at life. We can change that – the Donate Life Plate will help us inspire more Californians to say “YES!” to organ, eye and tissue donation.”
The California Highway Patrol, the state-agency sponsor for Donate Life California’s license plate, supports the change to the blue and green Donate Life logo.
“The California Highway Patrol and Donate Life share a similar overall mission, saving lives,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “The change in the design of California’s Donate Life Plate, so that it is consistent with the look proudly displayed by thousands of other motorists throughout the nation, represents a strong unified show of support for this life-saving initiative.”
The cost of the Donate Life Plate ranges from $50 for a regular plate to $98 for a personalized plate. Right now, they can only be ordered through www.DonateLifePlate.org. Once 7,500 paid reservations are collected and the DMV produces the plates, they’ll be available to order directly through the DMV.
Fast Facts from Donate Life California:
- 18 people across the country die each day awaiting life-saving organ transplants.
- One in five on the U.S. organ transplant waiting list lives in California.
- All major religions support or permit organ, eye and tissue donation.
- You’re never too old to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor.
- Do not rule yourself out! People with all medical conditions are potential donors.
Please visit Donate Life California’s Stories of Hope web page to read more inspiring stories about organ and tissue donors and recipients from around the state.
