WCTF.org Transplant News

Nearly 3,000 Family Members of Organ and Tissue Donors to Participate

Corporate, Civic, Community and Healthcare Partners Unite to Promote Organ and Tissue Donation and Support the Donate Life California Registry

LOS ANGELES, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- A wide and diverse range of organizations will join and support more than 6,000 Southern Californians -- including nearly 3,000 donor family members -- at the sixth annual Donate Life Run/Walk at Cal State Fullerton on April 26 from 7:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. The non-competitive 5K run/walk and 1K fitness run draws participants from Santa Barbara and Bakersfield to Riverside and San Diego to inspire enrollment in the statewide Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.

The Donate Life Run/Walk, the largest Donate Life-themed event in the nation, has grown dramatically each year since its founding in 2003. The event is supported by a wide range of corporate, civic, community and healthcare organizations including American Red Cross, Bosley Hair Restoration, Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center, Fullerton School District, Orange County Sheriff's Academy, St. Joseph Hospital Kidney Transplant Program, Vons and Washington Mutual.

"Every April, as we mark National Donate Life Month, it is a joy to see the growth of this event mirror the public's embrace of organ and tissue donation in Southern California," stated Tom Mone, executive vice president and chief executive officer of OneLegacy, the non-profit organ and tissue recovery agency serving the greater Los Angeles area. "The Donate Life Run/Walk honors donors and their families, celebrates the gift of life, and inspires Californians to save lives by signing up on the Donate Life California Registry."

Proceeds from the event will benefit campaigns to spur enrollment in the Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry, which will have registered three million donors by the end of April.

"The Donate Life California Registry is an essential tool in our quest to end deaths on the national organ transplant waiting list," said Bryan Stewart, president of Donate Life California. "Signing up ensures your decision to donate is honored and relieves your family of the responsibility of making such an important decision at a difficult time."

More than 100 teams of walkers inspired by organ and tissue donors, organ recipients, and transplant candidates form the heart of the Donate Life Run/Walk experience. Among them are:

-- Thirteen school superintendents -- Sandra Barry, superintendent of the
Anaheim School District, is taking early retirement to donate a kidney
to her son. She will be joined by 12 other area school district
superintendents plus 50 others;

-- Nineteen mayors from Orange County cities including Aliso Viejo, Brea,
Cypress, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, La Habra, La
Palma, Laguna Niguel, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Paramount,
Placentia, Santa Ana, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster and Yorba Linda.
Civic leaders including Assemblymember Mike Duvall will walk with
constituent donor family members and transplant recipients;

-- Transplant surgeons and employees from Platinum sponsors Cedars-Sinai
Comprehensive Transplant Center and St. Joseph Hospital Kidney
Transplant Program will walk with their patients;

-- "Charlie's Angels", friends and family of former Rams offensive
lineman Charlie Cowan, who passed away April 29, 1998, while awaiting
a kidney transplant;

-- Team BSC (Brian's Support Continues) organized by Shelley Campbell of
Tustin, whose 18-year-old son Brian saved six lives through organ
donation two years ago. Campbell's Run/Walk fundraising web page has
attracted such personalities as baseball great Rod Carew;

-- The Big Four-Oh -- OneLegacy Ambassador Julie Gideon-Smith, San
Clemente, who received a kidney from her sister, celebrates her 40th
birthday this month and will have her party at the Run/Walk;

-- More than 100 Orange County Sheriff's Academy cadets;

-- Team Ortega, in support of Ed Ortega of La Habra, who has participated
in every Run/Walk despite being on dialysis. Ortega has been waiting
six years for a kidney transplant; and

-- Nearly 3,000 donor families, each wearing a t-shirt and button
featuring a photo of a loved one who gave life in their passing. The
Buenos from Los Angeles, one of many donor families who make the
Donate Life Run/Walk an annual family reunion, will bring 113 people
to the event to honor their daughter Christy.

The Donate Life Run/Walk was conceived by event chairmen Kathleen and Craig Hostert of Fullerton. Kathleen, a former Fullerton elementary school teacher, donated a kidney to her husband Craig nine years ago.

"This has truly been an incredible journey," said the Hosterts. "We are so proud of how the Donate Life Run/Walk has grown each year. We are deeply touched by the families who have found the Run/Walk to be a meaningful place for their family reunion keeping the memory of their loved one alive."

Opening ceremonies begin at 8:15 a.m., followed by brief remarks from several speakers including Fullerton Mayor Sharon Quirk; Miryam Mora, executive director, Donate Life California Registry; and two donor families. At approximately 8:45 a.m., eight baskets of doves will be released by organ recipients and donor families. The Run/Walk will also feature a "Circle of Life" garden with 150 photograph-bearing signs honoring donors and recipients.

A post-race Family Festival will feature 75 vendors, carnival rides, radio station Movin' 93.9 and three performances of a BMX Professional Bike Show featuring five extreme sports stunt riders. A snowboard signed by Olympic medalist snowboarder Chris Klug will be given away in an opportunity drawing at the end of the day. The American Red Cross and National Bone Marrow Foundation will hold on-site blood and bone marrow drives.

The public is invited to attend the Family Festival at no charge. Costs to participate in the Run/Walk are $30 for runners and walkers, $20 for individual living donor/recipient, $20 per person for family registration (4 or more only), or $20 per person for Team Registration (10 or more team members required). More information is available at http://www.donatelifeoc.org/.

The event is produced by OneLegacy, the non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ and tissue donation in the seven-county greater Los Angeles area. With 200 hospitals, 14 transplant centers and a diverse population of 19 million, OneLegacy is the largest of the 58 federally designated organ recovery agencies in the U.S., and in the world.

Those wishing to make the commitment to donate may register online at http://www.donatelifecalifornia.org/ or its Spanish-language counterpart, http://www.donevidacalifornia.org/. For more information, call OneLegacy at (800) 786-4077 or visit http://www.onelegacy.org/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Donate Life Run/Walk

CONTACT: Bryan Stewart of OneLegacy, +1-213-401-1226,
bstewart@onelegacy.org; or Rivian Bell of JDI Communications, +1-213-612-4927,
or 24-7, 1-888-477-4329, rlb@abmac.com, both for Donate Life Run|Walk

Web site:

http://www.donatelifeoc.org/
http://www.donatelifecalifornia.org/
http://www.donevidacalifornia.org/
http://www.onelegacy.org/

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Profile: Transplant News

Environmentally Responsible Site to Significantly Increase Company's Presence in China

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ:GENZ) announced today that it will build a major new research and development center in Beijing. The initiative is an important element in Genzyme's ongoing global expansion and commitment to establishing a long-term presence in China.

The new facility will be used for research and development activities involving many of Genzyme's key areas of focus, including orthopedics, transplant and immune disease, oncology, endocrinology and cardiovascular disease. The facility, which will feature an innovative green design, will also include laboratory-scale operations for the MACI(R) (matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation) cell therapy and polyclonal antibody operations.

"This new site represents a major step forward in our effort to improve the lives of patients in China by introducing innovative new medical products," said Henri A. Termeer, Genzyme's chairman and chief executive officer. "As we expand our presence in China, we look forward to making a significant contribution to the growth of the country's life sciences industry."

Genzyme already markets Synvisc(R) (hylan G-F 20) and Thymoglobulin(R) (anti-thymocyte globulin rabbit) in China, and is preparing to introduce additional products next year. The company also has a pilot program at Beijing Wujing Hospital for the cell therapy product MACI. Genzyme currently has 25 employees working in offices in Beijing and Shanghai.

Since 1999, Genzyme has provided its rare genetic disease treatment Cerezyme(R) (imiglucerase for injection) free of charge to Chinese patients in need. Approximately 125 patients are being treated in China through the Gaucher Initiative, Genzyme's humanitarian partnership with Project HOPE. Last year, the company began a collaboration with the Chinese firm Sunway Biotech Co. Ltd. with the goal of bringing a gene therapy for cardiovascular disease to patients in China and Genzyme is seeking to form additional partnerships with local companies.

Consistent with Genzyme's commitment to the environment and corporate responsibility, the new Beijing facility will feature an attractive architectural design and innovative green features that will create a healthy and comfortable workplace for employees, and reduce its environmental impact. The company intends to seek certification for the building with the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. Genzyme's global corporate headquarters, Genzyme Center, achieved the highest LEED rating, and all of the company's facilities worldwide are being built to high environmental standards. Genzyme is conducting major R&D and manufacturing expansion projects in the United States, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and is rapidly expanding its commercial operations in countries around the world.

Genzyme's new Beijing facility will be located in Zhongguancun (ZGC) Life Science Park, an area dedicated to academic and government research centers as well as pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The 200,000 square-foot building will be constructed with low-impact environmental techniques and methods, and will incorporate a range of environmentally responsible features, including: a living roof to reduce pollution caused by storm water runoff; a solar thermal system that will provide a significant portion of the building's hot water and reduce its energy consumption; and low-flow fixtures to limit water usage.

An all-glass exterior will provide employees with significant natural light, contributing to a pleasant working environment and reducing the facility's dependence on electricity for artificial lighting. The facility is also intended to serve as a central gathering spot, with a large auditorium to host meetings of employees, physicians and others in the scientific community. This meeting space will be adjacent to an exterior garden area, and there will also be interior gardens throughout the facility.

Genzyme's core research and development operations are located in Massachusetts, USA. The company also has a research site in Cambridge, U.K. The Beijing facility will be the company's second product-focused R&D site outside of the United States.

Genzyme is seeking necessary governmental authorizations and expects to complete and open the facility in 2010. The facility will be able to accommodate 350 employees, and the total cost for the project is estimated to be $90 million. The architect is RMJM Hillier and the engineer is MW Zander.

About Genzyme

One of the world's leading biotechnology companies, Genzyme is dedicated to making a major positive impact on the lives of people with serious diseases. Since 1981, the company has grown from a small start-up to a diversified enterprise with more than 10,000 employees in locations spanning the globe and 2007 revenues of $3.8 billion. In 2007, Genzyme was chosen to receive the National Medal of Technology, the highest honor awarded by the President of the United States for technological innovation.

With many established products and services helping patients in nearly 90 countries, Genzyme is a leader in the effort to develop and apply the most advanced technologies in the life sciences. The company's products and services are focused on rare inherited disorders, kidney disease, orthopaedics, cancer, transplant, and diagnostic testing. Genzyme's commitment to innovation continues today with a substantial development program focused on these fields, as well as immune disease, infectious disease, and other areas of unmet medical need.

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Genzyme's business plans and strategies, including without limitation: the construction of an R&D facility in Beijing, the incorporation of environmentally sensitive design features and construction techniques into the facility, the commencement of construction of the facility, and the completion and opening of the facility in 2010. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forecasted. These risks and uncertainties include, among others: Genzyme's ability to obtain all required authorizations and permits to build the R&D facility; Genzyme's ability to utilize low impact environmental techniques and to incorporate environmentally sensitive design features into the facility; Genzyme's ability to construct the facility without delays resulting from customary design and construction risks; Genzyme's ability to validate, set-up and commence operations at the facility; and the risks and uncertainties described in Genzyme's SEC reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including the factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in Genzyme's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2007. Genzyme cautions investors not to place substantial reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These statements speak only as of today's date and Genzyme undertakes no obligation to update or revise the statements.

Genzyme(R), Synvisc(R), Thymoglobulin(R) and Cerezyme(R) are registered trademarks of Genzyme Corporation. All rights reserved.

Genzyme's press releases and other company information are available at http://www.genzyme.com/ and by calling Genzyme's investor information line at 1-800-905-4369 within the United States or 1-678-999-4572 outside the United States.

Media Contact: Investor Contact:
Erin Emlock Patrick Flanigan
(617) 768-6579 (617) 768-6563

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Genzyme Corp.

CONTACT: Media, Erin Emlock, +1-617-768-6579, or Investors, Patrick
Flanigan, +1-617-768-6563, both of Genzyme Corp.

Web site:

http://www.genzyme.com/

Company News On-Call:

http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/113803.html

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Profile: Transplant News