FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Media Contacts: Rivian Bell or Lisa Bernfeld,

JDI Communications, Inc.,

(213) 612-4927, (888) 477-4319 (24/7),

rlb@abmac.com.

 

23 ROSE PARADE® FLOAT RIDERS SHOW LIVES TRANSFORMED THROUGH ORGAN, TISSUE DONATION

Nationwide Coalition of Organizations Unite To Inspire Everyone to Donate Life;

First Step Can Be Gift of ‘Family Circle’ Rose on Donate Life Float

LOS ANGELES, Calif. Oct. 14, 2005

Most of the 23 riders who will wave from this year’s Donate Life Rose Parade® Float may seem at first like ordinary people, but they are heroes in their own lives. These are the men, women, and teens who have been selected from 13 states and the District of Columbia to represent the thousands of donor family members, living donors, and organ and tissue recipients whose lives embody the float’s theme, Life Transformed.

“For the 90,000 people now waiting for life-saving organs, the presence of these riders shows that their hopes can be realized when people give the gift of life,” stated Bryan Stewart, chairman of the Donate Life Rose Parade Float organization committee and director of communications for OneLegacy, the non-profit, federally designated transplant donor network serving the greater Los Angeles area. “Everyone who has been touched by organ or tissue donation experiences a transformation in their life. In a year in which the parade theme is It’s Magical, our riders’ stories show the magic of a life transformed by donation.”

The float’s 23 riders are unique in age, ethnicity, gender, and home states: Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Yet some will find common ground because they ride in memory of loved ones, like Robin Barrett, Gail Brooks, Edith Gonzalez, Kade Howard, Tae Park, Colleen Sasso and Mary Ann Venturelli. Some, like Christine Galan, who was the first heart-liver recipient to run the New York City Marathon, will be able to give tips to fellow rider Sahra Torres-Rivera, a living donor who will run a marathon in Arizona next year in honor of the friend who received her kidney. America Leyva will recognize Avery Livingston, because they both suffered renal failure at age 10 but are now happy 15-year-olds thanks in large part to kidney transplants. And Nicole Brooke Stoe, who celebrates 15 years after receiving a liver transplant at age 16, will be able to tell teen Kurt Wiltcher, who underwent his own liver transplant at 16, how bright his own future can be.

The full list of riders includes:

• Robin Barrett, 41, who found her own heart warmed with the knowledge that her mother’s final gift of organs had saved lives;

• After a near fatal shooting, police officer Mike Blood, 58, miraculously survived, thanks in part to the gift of tissue donation;

• Gail Brooks, 43, whose three-year-old son Keaton saved four lives as an organ donor in 1992 after a sudden illness;

• Jackie Colleran, 64, who received a liver transplant after suffering acute liver failure. She has since met the family of her donor, Wade Schoenfeld;

• Myriam Correa-Sherman, 59, whose 1991 heart transplant enabled her to meet her three grandchildren who have been born since then;

• Ilene Feder, 50, received a liver transplant in 1996 after a diagnosis of the very rare Budd-Chiari Syndrome;

 • Lung recipient Gary Foxen, 69, originated the Donate Life Rose Parade Float in 2001 as a way to share his joy of receiving the gift of life in 1999;

• Christine Galán, 43, was the first person west of the Mississippi River in 1998 to receive a simultaneous heart-liver transplant and has been nationally recognized as a volunteer for terminally ill children;

• Thanks to a bone allograft in her deteriorating knee, lifelong fitness aficionado Karen Garber, 45, can continue her career as a personal trainer;

• Edith Gonzalez, 37, who was inspired by a message from Pope John Paul II to donate the organs of her young husband Lidio after he died of an aneurysm in 2001. She has since met the family of his lung recipient;

• Kathy Hasan, 48, received a liver transplant in 2001 on Martin Luther King Day after suffering from a long-term autoimmune disease that left her hours from death;

• Kade Howard, 17, remembers his younger brother Dalton, who became a tissue donor after being struck by a car on a rural highway;

• Liver transplant recipient Lyda Kroening, 55, whose perspective on life has changed dramatically since she received the gift of life in 2003;

• America Leyva, 15, suffered renal failure at age 10 and endured two years of dialysis before receiving a kidney transplant. Her transplant gave her the confidence to serve as president of her 9th grade class;

• Avery Livingston, 15, who was born with VATER syndrome and in March 2000 received a kidney donated by her father. She is now a happy eighth grader;

• Albert Paduano, 53, whose 20-year battle with kidney problems culminated with receiving a kidney donated by his nephew, fellow school teacher Stephen;

• Tae Park, 59, whose close-knit family found strength in donating the organs of 22-year-old son John following a fatal automobile accident;

• Colleen Sasso, 57, whose knowledge of her daughter Sharon’s wish to be a donor helped comfort her amidst her tragic death;

• Nicole Brook Stoe, 31, who received a liver transplant at age 16 and is now the proud mother of a healthy son; 

• Sahra Torres-Rivera, 33, who donated a kidney to her friend Kiko four years ago and is now training for endurance events to demonstrate that living kidney donors can lead normal, healthy lives;

• Mary Ann Venturelli, 51, rides in memory of her daughter Trina, who became a tissue donor after a fatal rodeo accident;

• Erika Wells, 24, whose kidney transplant at age 19 enabled her to attend Yale University’s Ph.D. program in biology, where she is now in her first year.

• Kurt Wiltcher, 19, whose liver failed at age 16, now shares his transplant experience with students as a lifeguard and swim instructor at the YMCA.

In addition to the 23 float riders, for the first time, anyone can participate directly in the Donate Life Float through the inaugural “Family Circle” program, which invites families and individuals touched by donation and transplantation to dedicate a rose on the float. Dedicated roses will be placed in the “Family Circle Garden” in water-filled vials, each one tagged with the name of an organ/tissue donor, transplant recipient, transplant candidate or other person touched by donation for whom the rose is dedicated. Complete details about dedicating a “Family Circle” rose can be found at www.donatelifefloat.org.

In a salute to the importance the Hispanic community in organ and tissue donation and the nation, the logos on each side of the Donate Life float will be presented both in English and in Spanish (“Done Vida”) – a first in the 117-year history of the Tournament of Roses.

This year’s riders are supported by more than 50 organizations nationwide that have joined forces to bring awareness of the growing need for organ and tissue donation and the importance of making the commitment to donate life. The partnership includes organ and tissue recovery organizations, transplant centers, transplant recipient groups and other organizations. Joining OneLegacy as top-level Benefactors are Astellas Pharma US, Inc. and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).

The 118th Rose Parade, themed It’s Magical, will take place on Mon., Jan. 2, 2006 at 8:00am PST featuring spirited marching bands from throughout the nation, majestic floral floats and high-stepping equestrian units. Additional information about the Donate Life float can be found at www.donatelifefloat.org  or by contacting Bryan Stewart at OneLegacy, (213) 401-1226, bstewart@onelegacy.org