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VOLUME 172 • ISSUE 149 | $1.00
Diamond Springs man doubles up on organ donation
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eremy Olson’s wife Mila, a piccolo and flute musician with the Folsom Lake Symphony, shared the news with her husband two years ago that her fellow symphony member and drummer Trent Teague needed a kidney transplant. After researching kidney donation and determining he would be fine after the procedure, Jeremy only had one question left to answer: “Why wouldn’t I do this?” Teague tragically passed away before the operation could happen, but Jeremy, 46, became set on donating his kidney to someone in need. After an approximate three-month process of medical and mental health screenings through UC Davis Medical Center, the Diamond Springs donor went under the knife Dec. 9, 2022. His donation was altruistic, also called nondirected, and he never learned the name of the recipient. “That’s not the important part,” Jeremy asserted. “I just wanted to do it. I’m saving somebody’s life, so why wouldn’t I want to do it?” Jeremy, an engineer for Siemens in Sacramento, has more to give; he is scheduled to undergo surgery to donate approximately 40% of his liver to another nondirected recipient Jan. 12 at the
Skull ID’d in possible Zodiac Killer cold case Mountain Democrat staff
Courtesy photo from Jeremy Olson
Jeremy Olson sits in a hospital bed at UC Davis Medical Center after going through surgery to donate his kidney in December 2022. He will undergo another surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center Jan. 12 to donate part of his liver to a non-directed recipient. University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center. “My surgery went smoothly last time and I recovered quickly,” Jeremy said. “My life will go on and someone else’s will be transformed positively. I really wanted to help, otherwise the people who don’t get what they need in time are going to die.” Olson said it took him about two weeks to recover before returning to his daily routine, including work.
The engineer was one of 6,466 people nationwide who became a living organ donor in 2022. The Organ Procurement and Transplant Network from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported the nation set a record of 42,887 performed organ transplants in 2022, the highest in a single year. Kidney transplants accounted for more than 25,000 of those transplants, another record set in a single year.
A skull found in Placer County in 1986 has been identified as that of Stateline, Nev., nurse Donna Lass, reported missing in 1970 and long thought to be a victim of the Zodiac Killer. The Placer County Sheriff ’s Office recently formed a cold case team dedicated to continued investigation of missing persons and suspicious death cases. The team turned its attention to the skull, located almost 40 years ago off Highway 20 near Interstate 80, sending it off to the California Department of Justice Bureau of Forensic Services in hopes of a
DONNA LASS DNA match. Forensic specialists were able to match DNA from the skull with DNA from a member of Lass’ family that was initially obtained by South Lake Tahoe Police Department for its missing persons case. ■ See LASS, page A7
Proposed community reimagined for ‘healthy aging’ Mountain Democrat staff A community “dedicated to longer
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and healthier living for older adults and people with disabilities,” planned by AKT Investments in collaboration with UC Davis Health, is proposed for 3,000 acres straddling south Folsom and El Dorado Hills. The envisioned Community for Health and Independence will be a national model community based concepts coming out of research from and conceived in collaboration with UC Davis Health, according to a news release from AKT and UC Davis Health. Planning and design of the community will be guided by UC Davis researchers’ 2021 Planning Healthy Aging Communities findings. “We know the key to healthy aging for people starts in their homes,” said UC Davis Health CEO David Lubarsky. “We believe a reimagined community
that leverages technology for humanmade spaces where people live, recreate and work will promote better management of chronic disease and increase independence for valuable members of this population.” A 200-acre UC Davis teaching, research and health complex is planned as the centerpiece of the community. An initial project application is intended to inform both the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors and the Folsom City Council of “the significant need for this kind of community, and begin the process to evaluate the merits of the project,” continues the news release. “Notably, the land identified for the proposed project poses no significant risks from wildfires, flooding or earthquakes, and does not encroach on prime ■ See COMMUNITY, page A8
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The UC Davis Health/AKT Community for Health and Independence is proposed for 3,000 acres on the El Dorado-Sacramento county border.
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