This special group of organ, eye, and tissue donors will be honored visually in ‘floragraph’ images adorning the sixth Donate Life float entry, Stars of Life, in the 120th Rose Parade. Amidst the float’s spectacular shower of stars, 38 gold stars will frame these artistic portraits created with floral and other natural materials. Families of many of the donors depicted in the floragraphs will journey cross-country to Pasadena in the weeks leading up to the Parade to decorate the portraits of their loved ones.

“Each donor represented in a floragraph is a true ‘Star of Life’,” said Bryan Stewart, chairman of the Donate Life float committee and vice president of communications at OneLegacy, the nonprofit organ and tissue recovery agency serving the greater Los Angeles area. “All of the stories are unique yet profoundly connected, as their gifts came from a singular desire to help others. As their families arrive to create their loved ones’ images in flowers, seeds and spices, they will share a deeply meaningful experience that keeps the memory of their loved ones very much alive, and breathtakingly so.”

Some of the floragraph honorees gave organs and tissue that helped those who will ride on the float on New Year’s Day. Young Matthew Bemis of Rising City, Neb., donated the liver that sustained the life of Lily Allen of East Syacuse, N.Y., then less than a year old. Now 25 years old and recently married, Lily will join the Bemis family to create Matthew’s floragraph, which will shine above her as she rides the Donate Life float on New Year’s Day.

Another youngster, Micah Miller of Spokane, Wash., will be honored by his father, Eric, who survived the accident that resulted in Micah’s death. Micah’s mother Jenna will join Eric to create their son’s floragraphic image as Eric prepares for his own float riding journey down Colorado Blvd.

Some floragraph honorees are notable for unique circumstances, including Anne Laumer of Eagan, Minn. and Curtis Lovegren of Shoreview, Minn. After both became organ and eye donors, Anne’s widower Ronald met Curtis’s widow Ruth. They subsequently married and now volunteer regularly in memory of their loved ones, who will both be honored with floragraphs.

Fifteen-year-old Christopher Trevizo of Hacienda Heights, Calif. may have been the victim of a senseless homicide, but in the wake of tragedy his family was able to direct one of his kidneys to save the life of his first grade teacher.

Michael Corea of South Euclid, Ohio, is one of the very few people in the U.S. to be both an organ recipient and an organ donor. Mike underwent a successful liver transplant at age 11, only to die at age 22 in a motorcycle accident, in the process donating his heart and lungs to candidates on the national organ transplant waiting list.

Some floragraph honorees have had a national impact on donation. Five months after the death of Kelly Nachreiner of Sauk City, Wis., Gov. Tommy Thompson signed the Kelly Nachreiner Bill into law, requiring all drivers education programs in Wisconsin to give 30 minutes of instruction on organ donation – the first bill of its kind in the country. When Thompson became Secretary of Health and Human Services in 2001, he modeled a national organ donation curriculum for middle and high schools, “Decision: Donation,” based on Kelly’s Law.

After Michael McVey of Downingtown, Pa., suffered a severe head injury in 1995, he became the first donation after cardiac death (DCD) donor since early-1980s brain death laws made the procedure obsolete. His mother, Susan McVey Dillon, who will ride the Donate Life float underneath her son’s floragraph, has since advocated nationally for donation after cardiac death, which is now common practice across the U.S.

When Theresa Lozada of Plano, Tex., gave her husband Victor’s tissue to heal up to 50 people, she turned a national tragedy into an opportunity for Victor to live on and “give someone else a second chance.” She will ride the float under the floragraph of Victor Lozada, who lost his life in a motorcycle accident while protecting Sen. Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign.

More than 28,000 lives are saved each year in the U.S. through the gift of organ donation, giving hope to the more than 100,000 people awaiting a life-saving organ transplant. In addition, every year hundreds of thousands of people need donated corneas and tissue to prevent or cure blindness, heal burns or save limbs.

In addition to the 38 floragraph honorees, the float will carry 26 riders, some of whom are mentioned above, whose relationship to donation and inspiring service to our community has made them “stars” to be recognized. The float will also carry dozens of white stars to represent those among us who have been touched by donation, while four transparent stars will symbolize those in need of donated organs, corneas and tissue. The large orange-yellow stars at the front of the float will carry more than 1,000 roses dedicated through the Family Circle program, with each carrying a personal message of love, gratitude and hope to a donor, recipient or candidate in need of a transplant. Last year, dedicated roses came from all 50 states and 21 countries.

Coordinated by Donate Life America member OneLegacy, the Donate Life Rose Parade float is supported by 60 official partners from across the nation, 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); Donate Life America; the Family Circle Rose Dedication Program; and UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) and 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.