Desert Care Network, One Legacy raise a flag to honor ER nurse
Kendall Flynn
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – The Desert Care Network and One Legacy are honoring the life of ER nurse Anabel Sanchez by raising a flag at JFK Memorial Hospital.
Organizers and Sanchez’s family member say she saved lives in her work, but also continued to do so after death by being an organ donor.
“She touched a lot of lives here at JFK,” Kimberly Garcia, Sanchez’s colleague and friend said. “Through life resuscitation measures or just a ‘How are you doing? Do you need a glass of water?’ She was one of the nurses that you would definitely want to be a part of your care.”
“For her to want to do that and to choose to save anybody in anyway, it’s definitely a big impact, not only on our lives but other people’s lives as well,” Marbella Meraz, Sanchez’s daughter, said.
The organizations joined for the flag raise in honor of Sanchez and National Donate Life Month, which recognizes the generosity of those who have saved and healed lives by becoming donors like Sanchez.
“She selflessly made that decision to make a donation possible,” Stephanie Char, One Legacy Regional Manager of Business Partnerships said. “And with her family’s commitment to honoring her wishes, it was something that we truly were able to help provide that gift of life to those individuals in need.”
Officials with One Legacy say there is a critical need for people to register as donors. Last year, Desert Regional donors helped save 20 lives. Additionally, 45 individuals were provided tissue transplants and 30 people were “given the gift of sight” with cornea transplant.
In 2024, three lives were saved at JFK Memorial Hospital, where Sanchez worked. Though individuals are receiving the care they need, officials say the necessity for organ donors is only increasing.
“There’s 20,000 individuals who are in need for that organ lifesaving [and] gift of life,” Char said. “With that being said, here in the Valley we do see a high need, especially, for individuals who are in need of kidney donations and transplantation.”
One Legacy wants people to look at Sanchez’s and other donors stories of how greatly they impacted the community, and consider the importance of becoming a donor.
“It’s just having those discussions,” Char said. “It’s something that certainly isn’t necessarily a dinner conversation, but it could be something of a topic just to ensure that individuals are aware of what their wants and wishes are, and to ensure that we are also understanding that there is an opportunity to provide a legacy to others after our presence here.”
A legacy Sanchez’s life is now a part of.
Stay with News Channel 3 to hear Sanchez’s legacy from her family, and the inspiration she brings for organ donation in the Coachella Valley.