For National Donate Life Month, Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria honored organ donors with a flag-raising ceremony on Thursday.
The ceremony honored organ, eye, and tissue donors along with their families. It also celebrated the people who received those donations.
"It's really a call to action and awareness and bringing awareness within the community to donation," said Prasad Garimella, CEO of OneLegacy, an organ procurement organization. "There's over 120,000 people on the waitlist nationally, and California makes up 20% of that waitlist, and here in Southern California and Marian, there's over 9,000 recipients on the waitlist."
The event also featured speakers who shared their stories of organ donation and how it has impacted them.
