Notable among the contingent is television producer and actor Ann Lopez, whose most recognized and respected role may never be in front of the cameras. In 2005, she donated a kidney to her husband, comedian, actor and talk show host George Lopez. “I feel so blessed to have been able to give my husband the gift of life,” said Lopez. “My goal is to help garner national attention to organ donation, especially living donation, as well as education about prevention and screening for kidney disease.” It is with this goal in mind that the Lopezes launched The Ann & George Lopez Foundation within the last year.

Kidney recipient Norma Araos of Los Angeles, Calif. represents the 108,000 people awaiting transplants in the United States. Although she undergoes dialysis three times a week awaiting a second transplant, she applies her energy as a volunteer Donate Life Ambassador to inspire Latinos to register as donors. Norma serves a unique role as the first candidate for a transplant to ride a Donate Life float.

“Our float riders inspire others to sign up on their state donor registries,” said Bryan Stewart, chairman of the Donate Life float committee and vice president of communications at OneLegacy, the nonprofit organ and tissue organization serving the greater Los Angeles area. “Their personal stories of courage in the face of adversity offer dramatic testimony to the lives that are saved and healed through organ, eye and tissue donation. Some are deeply grateful that the generosity of donors and their families gave them a second chance, while others are proud of their loved ones’ living legacies as donors.”

The Donate Life float, themed Seize the Day!, features colorful kites adorned with 60 memorial ‘floragraph’ portraits of deceased donors. Their legacies lift the hopes of those in need of transplants. In addition, thousands of organ, eye and tissue donors nationwide are memorialized with dedicated roses carrying personal messages of love, hope and remembrance. This November, three of the 28 riders will be given the honor of leading the float on its five-mile journey to guide the kites into flight.

While every rider has a unique story to share, some are especially poignant. Four of the riders had to make the difficult decision to donate the organs or tissue of their children. Catherine Casey of Inver Grove Heights, Minn. found that being a police officer could not protect her beloved daughter, Deanna, from losing her life in an accident involving a drunk driver. Jeff Peterson of Franklinville, N.Y., lost his five-year-old son, Erik, in a freak accident. Jody Dosser of Osage, Iowa, is another donor mother whose beloved son Jermiah was killed when a truck ran a red light. She recently achieved the passage of “Jermiah’s Law” in Iowa to increase sanctions against drivers who injure others when they run red lights. Delora “Dee” Tilton of Groveland, Ill. saw her son Jeff become a donor, but knew a great deal about donation for many years prior, as husband Jim was a kidney recipient.

Tissue and eye donation, which includes giving skin to heal burns, corneas to prevent or cure blindness, and ligaments and bone to restore mobility, figures prominently for a number of riders. For cornea recipient Martin Joseph Sanchez, Jr. of Fremont, Calif., the gift of sight led him to become aware of the greater values in life, and he became an active hospice volunteer. When Parker Simpson of Aurora, Col., began feeling shoulder pain two years ago, he attributed it to weightlifting or a too-heavy backpack. Instead, he was diagnosed with Stage IV bone cancer. His shoulder and upper arm were removed, only to be reconstructed with an allograft bone transplant from a deceased donor. Now a student at the University of Colorado, Parker has become a rock climber and believes that “life has endless possibilities.”

Gifts of the heart have brought new life to several riders, from teens to seniors. Fifteen-year-old Brittany Grimm of Fairview, Penn. speaks in her community about how a heart transplant saved her life. The oldest rider, 72-year-old John Weakley of Ilion, N.Y., received the heart of 19-year-old Steven nearly two decades ago. A full-time hospital employee, he continues to be active giving talks on donation. Another medical professional, Jennifer Shih of Atlanta, Ga., was a pediatric cardiac resident when her own heart gave out. A donated heart allows her to be a general pediatrician and current fellow in allergy and immunology while raising money every year for heart transplant patient care and education through her Have a Heart Benefit. Donald Arthur of Bronx, N.Y., struggled with cardiomyopathy for years before receiving a new heart in 1996. Since then, he has run in marathons in 31 states and was honored to carry the Olympic Torch in 2002 through the streets of Queens. Carl Drury of Plainfield, Ind., was a successful businessman who married his fiancée in the hospital while awaiting a heart transplant. He received his heart three hours after they wed.

For some riders, being young did not protect them from the need for a transplant. When Michael “Mikey” Carraway, Jr. of Oakland, Calif. was 11, he was healthy one minute and gravely ill the next. After receiving a liver from a 15-year-old donor, Mikey, now 13, and his family launched “Mikey’s Meals” to feed the homeless and pay his gift of life forward. Another 13-year-old, Emma Brown of Athens, Ohio, inexplicably suffered sudden liver failure when she was only nine. The transplant not only helped her to live as a normal eighth-grader, it instilled a rare level of emotional maturity in her as well.

One rider carries special meaning for the Donate Life float organizing committee. Phil Van Stavern, interim chief operating officer for LifeShare of Oklahoma, is known throughout America’s donation and transplant community for “Phil’s List,” his online listserve that helps professionals share practices and stay informed of developments in the field.

“We have all come to depend on his devotion and wit in bringing us needed information,” said Stewart. “That’s why it was especially tragic when his 14-year-old grandson Nick died in a four-wheeler accident and became a tissue donor last May. We are honored to have this opportunity to recognize Phil, a kidney recipient himself, and remember Nick, as one of this year’s floragraph honorees.”

Organ and tissue donations save and help tens of thousands of lives each year in the U.S. alone. Today, more than 108,000 candidates are on the national organ transplant waiting list. Largely due to the rarity of donation opportunities, only about 28,000 organs are transplanted each year. As a result, 18 candidates die each day for lack of a donor. A single donor can save the lives of eight people through organ donation, while a single tissue donor can save and heal 50 others through needed heart valves, corneas, skin, bone, and tendons that prevent or cure blindness, heal burns and save limbs.

Coordinated by Donate Life America member OneLegacy, the national Donate Life float campaign is supported by approximately 60 official partners from coast to coast, including organ and tissue recovery organizations, tissue banks, state donor registries, transplant centers and affiliated organizations. Joining OneLegacy as top-level benefactors are Astellas Pharma US, Inc., a fourth-year sponsor of five float riders through the "Ride of a Lifetime" contest and supporter of 1,000 volunteer decorators; the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB); The Ann & George Lopez Foundation; the Dignity Memorial® network, North America's largest network of funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers and sponsor of four floragraphs; Donate Life America; and UNOS and the National Donor Memorial. All float partners encourage parade viewers to save lives by registering in their states to be organ, eye and tissue donors and donating blood in their communities.

The 122nd Rose Parade presented by Honda, themed Building Dreams, Friendships & Memories, will take place Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011, at 8 a.m. (PST) featuring majestic floral floats, high-stepping equestrian units and spirited marching bands. Following the Rose Parade, the 97th Rose Bowl Game will kick off at 2:10 p.m. and feature an exciting match-up between two of the top collegiate football teams in the nation. For additional information on the Tournament of Roses, please visit the official website at www.tournamentofroses.com.