“We are thankful that so many donors and recipients will be honored by organizations nationwide through their participation in our float’s Donate Life Family Circle rose dedication program,” stated 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 dedicated roses and the tributes they carry will add to the beauty and meaning of the most inspiring float in the Rose Parade.” As one hospital executive noted, “At University Hospital, we witness every day the powerful ways in which organ donation and transplantation touches lives,” said Anita Larsen, chief operating officer of University Hospital in Columbia, Mo. “Supporting the Donate Life float is a great way to honor and remember those University Hospital donors who gave the gift of life through organ, tissue and eye donation.”

Another hospital executive expanded on this idea: “The Family Circle program holds a special place in the hearts of our transplant team members,” said Mark S. Orloff, chief of the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Division of Solid Organ Transplantation. “We are reminded daily of the selfless gift that donors and their loved ones make to save the life of strangers, and we see the lasting effects those gifts have on transplant recipients and their families. It is our honor to offer remembrance and gratitude for all involved and to remind the world about the impact of organ donation.”

Many of the hospitals and transplant centers will host Donate Life Rose Ceremonies to welcome donor families back to the hospital so that they can be thanked for their generosity under such trying circumstances. “Rose ceremonies provide every participating hospital with the opportunity to recognize not only the patients and families they serve, but also the healthcare professionals who are essential to a successful donation process,” Stewart noted.

According to D. Gail Frankle RN, Med, CPTC, transplant program manager, “Penn State Hershey Medical Center decided to be a part of the Donate Life Family Circle to honor the generosity of donor families and the dedicated medical team that cared for them. Without this gift our transplant patients would not have a second chance at life.”

While more than 40 hospitals and transplant centers have dedicated nearly 1,000 roses, more than 500 are being sponsored by the Dignity Memorial® network, North America’s largest network of funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers. Many of the Dignity Memorial roses will be personalized at holiday gatherings hosted annually by their providers.

“We are honored to be the presenting sponsor of the Donate Life Family Circle Rose Dedication Program,” said Phil Jacobs, chief marketing officer with Service Corporation International, whose affiliates make up the Dignity Memorial network of funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers. “We want to encourage everyone to memorialize the extraordinary individuals in their life with a dedicated rose.”

Individuals and organizations may dedicate roses online by visiting the Family Circle section on the Donate Life Rose Parade float website, www.donatelifefloat.org. Individual dedications are made with a $30 charitable contribution to support the Donate Life float’s national campaign. A projected 1,500 roses submitted by individuals will bring the float’s total to nearly 3,000 dedicated rosesS. Donate Life’s eighth Rose Parade float entry, themed Seize the Day!, features colorful kites adorned with 60 memorial “floragraph” portraits of deceased donors. On New Year’s Day, three of the 30 riders will be given the honor of leading the float on its five-mile journey to guide the kites into flight.

Organ and tissue donations save and heal hundreds of thousands of people each year in the U.S. alone. Today, more than 109,000 candidates are on the national organ transplant waiting list. Largely due to the rarity of circumstances that allow for deceased organ donation, 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, 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 Pasadena Tournament of Roses is a volunteer organization that annually hosts the Rose Parade® presented by Honda, Rose Bowl Game® and various associated events. 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 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.

For more information about the Donate Life Rose Parade Float, visit the official float website at www.donatelifefloat.org. For more information about how hospitals can dedicate roses in the Family Circle Garden, visit the Family Circle section of the Donate Life float website.