Jennifer Moe
Director of Communications/PR
Donor Alliance
303-329-4747

COLORADO’S ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE THE GIFT OF LIFE IN 2010 ROSE PARADE®

Colorado Donor Families and Transplant Recipients Show How New Life Rises with Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation

DENVER—November 19, 2009—For more than 120 years, the Tournament of Roses Parade has been an American tradition. This year, Colorado’s organ and tissue donation community will come together to join a national campaign to celebrate and honor the lifesaving gifts of organ and tissue donation as part of Donate Life’s 2010 Donate Life’s Rose Parade Float, New Life Rises. The float will be featured in the 121st annual Tournament of Roses Parade on Friday, January 1, 2010 at 10 a.m. MST in Pasadena, CA.

New Life Rises will feature a phoenix–the mythical symbol of life coming out of death–rising into the sky representing those who give life in their death and the people whose lives are renewed by their gifts. The bird will soar high above 24 riders who are comprised of living donors and donor family members from across the U.S. Adorning the bird’s tail feathers are 76 floragraphs–portraits created with floral material–of deceased donors who gave life to those in need. In addition, donors from across the country are memorialized in a garden of dedicated roses, with each rose vial carrying a personal message of love, hope and remembrance.

Represented among the float’s stories are three Colorado families. Two Colorado families whose deceased sons gave the gift of life through organ and tissue donation will join a Colorado man, whose life was saved by donated tissue, to share their donation and transplant experiences.

The Donate Life float’s riders and floragraph honorees represent millions of people touched by organ and tissue donation, including donor families, their deceased loved ones, living donors, transplant recipients and transplant candidates. Riders and floragraph honorees are individually sponsored by official partners who support the Donate Life Rose Parade financially. Centennial-based, AlloSource, one of the nation’s largest non-profit providers of skin, bone and soft tissue allografts for use in surgical procedures, is sponsoring Colorado float rider Manuel Salazar. Dignity Memorial funeral, cremation and cemetery providers in the Denver area and Donor Alliance, Colorado’s organ procurement organization, are each sponsoring a floragraph honoree – Robert Schuppert and Joseph Templeton respectively. Rob’s and Joe’s families will come together in December to decorate their loved ones floragraphs in Denver.

According to Donor Alliance, organ donors save the lives of more than 28,000 Americans on average each year. 1,500,000 tissue transplants occur in the U.S. each year and close to half a million Americans benefit from the lifesaving and healing gifts organ and tissue donors provide.

Tissue recipient and float rider Manuel Salazar of Aurora survived a devastating construction accident and now thrives as a quadruple amputee. Six years ago Salazar’s life changed in an instant when a crane on a construction job site hit a power line, sending two 115,000 volts of electricity through his body. Miraculously Manuel survived, but his burns were life-threatening and required that his arms and legs be amputated. Thanks to Manuel’s indomitable spirit and donated allograft tissue that was used to cover his burns and later build him a new shoulder that could sustain a prosthetic, he not only survived but is an inspirational success story of tissue donation. Today, Manuel skis, swims, drives and owns an auto body shop.

“AlloSource is heartened to again sponsor a rider on the important Donate Life float and join fellow Colorado companies in promoting the cause of organ and tissue donation,” said Thomas A. Cycyota, AlloSource president and CEO. “Our float rider Manuel Salazar is a true hero for persevering through unimaginable circumstances as a quadruple amputee. He truly embodies the miracle and possibility of tissue donation. All of us at AlloSource are very proud to share his story with the entire country.”

Cornea and tissue donor Robert Schuppert of Broomfield enjoyed life fully. He looked at each day as a gift. On January 21, 1997, Rob passed away from a pulmonary embolism at the age of 24. While the pulmonary embolism compromised organ donation, Rob’s corneas and bone tissue were donated and contributed to new bone and tissue growth in many recipients over the years.

“It is such a privilege for us to honor Rob’s life and legacy by highlighting the choice his parents made to help other families in need,” said Rick Miller, director of Dignity Memorial providers in Denver. “Working in the funeral profession, it is wonderful to have this opportunity to recognize the gift of life that one person’s donation can give to many others.”

Organ and tissue donor Joseph Templeton died of complications from epilepsy on December 30, 2007 at the age of 22. Prior to his death, Joe had discussed his decision to be a donor with his mother, who was his best friend. Since Joe’s death, his mother has worked to educate the public about the need for and the benefits of organ and tissue donation. She is currently coordinating with members of the Colorado donation community to spearhead the creation of Colorado’s Donate Life license plate which will be available for purchase on January 1, 2010.

“It is truly our honor to pay tribute to Joe and his family by placing a floragraph in his honor, on the 2010 Rose Parade float,” said Sue Dunn, president and CEO of Donor Alliance. “Joe’s decision to register as an organ donor at the age of 15, helped save and heal the lives of seven people. It is our hope that his story will inspire other families across the country to discuss donation, then sign-up on their state donor registries.”

Coloradans can register their decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor in the following ways:
• Online at DonateLifeColorado.org.
• At the Division of Motor Vehicles the next time you obtain or renew your driver’s license.
• By calling 1-888-256-4386.

For more information, please visit DonateLifeColorado.org.

We are pleased to announce the creation of Colorado’s new specialty Donate Life license plate. CLICK HERE.

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