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Lake Elsinore proclaims April 2025 'Donate Life Month'; local transplant recipients and donor families speak
Summary
The Lake Elsinore City Council issued a proclamation designating April 2025 as Donate Life Month. Local 1Legacy ambassadors and transplant recipients described the need for organ and tissue donation and encouraged residents to register.
The Lake Elsinore City Council on the evening of its regular meeting read a proclamation declaring April 2025 as Donate Life Month and invited local 1Legacy ambassadors and transplant recipients to speak about organ, eye and tissue donation.
The proclamation, read by Mayor Tisdale, stressed the nationwide shortage of donated organs and encouraged Californians to register as organ, eye and tissue donors when applying for or renewing driver’s licenses at the DMV or at donatelifecalifornia.org.
Why it matters: Council members framed the proclamation as an awareness effort aimed at increasing donor registrations and addressing racial and ethnic disparities on transplant waiting lists. Speakers from the region described personal experiences and local data to highlight ongoing demand.
Mark Garrido, introduced as a 1Legacy ambassador and a donor parent in Lake Elsinore, thanked the council and said, “This means a lot to me, to us, as well as to the organ donor families and recipients in our community.” He noted the city has issued the proclamation annually since 2019.
Erica Hranek, introduced as a heart transplant recipient and a 1Legacy ambassador, described her medical history and recovery after receiving a transplant in 2017. She addressed common misconceptions about organ matching and donation, saying that being a registered donor does not guarantee a particular organ will go to a particular recipient because of matching factors such as blood type and size. “Putting a face on organ donation, I think, helps people,” Hranek said.
Speakers cited recent transplant statistics for the 1Legacy service area and statewide wait-list figures. Hranek said the region recorded 740 donors and 1,941 transplants in the 1Legacy area, and she noted the statewide wait list included roughly 23,000 people. The speakers urged residents to “check yes” on DMV forms or register at donatelifecalifornia.org.
The council said the proclamation will be posted publicly and that it would be highlighted at the 1Legacy Donate Life run/walk on April 26.
