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Community Corner

'Tree of Life' Unveiled at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach

The memorial honors organ donors.

Of all the gifts a person can receive, a life-saving organ is among the most precious.

On Tuesday, family members of local organ donors gathered at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach as the "Tree of Life"  was unveiled to give thanks and honor the life-saving donations. 

Mindy Davis, of Huntington Beach, spoke at the ceremony. Her 19-year-old son, Scott, died from a skateboarding accident three years ago,  and his wish was to have his organs harvested to help others.

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"We were able to donate his heart, and just last week we met the recipient," Davis said.

The Tree of Life is unique to Orange County. It was designed by artist Tova Rotlevy Cohen, an artist committed to helping children after the loss of her 3-year-old daughter—also an organ donor—to a brain tumor. 

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The 20 families in attendance were each given a certificate and a replica of the leaf bearing the name of their loved one. Richard Bobinski, a doctor from Newport Beach, received a leaf in memory of his wife,  Andrea. She was 40 and a mother of two small children when she died. Her organs saved five lives.

"Andrea died in 2007 of a brain hemorrhage, and, yes, I have received the names of the recipients," Bobinski said. "When my boys are older, it is more likely that we may eventually meet them."

Hospital officials say that between 2006 and 2010, Hoag had the largest number of tissue donors of any hospital in Orange County, with 138 consented donors. It also had 29 consented organ donors in the same time period, the largest of any non-trauma hospital in Orange County.

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