Chino Hills resident to ride on 2010 Rose Bowl float

Matthew Ogle, of Chino Hills, will be among 24 organ donor recipients from 13 states who will ride on Donate Life's floral phoenix "New Life Rises," to share heartfelt stories of people whose lives have been transformed by their donation and transplant experiences. 

The doners were selected by organ and tissue organizations and affiliated companies.

Ogle, 18, endured 24 surgeries before his fifth birthday, the year he received his kidney transplant. When he was eight, he began speaking to groups about how his transplant had changed his life. Now 18, Matthew continues to speak in his community and is active in sports at his local school. He challenges members of the Class of 2010 nationwide to register as organ and tissue donors.

"Our float riders inspire people every day in their own communities, and as riders on the Donate Life float New Life Rises, they will bring their messages of hope, remembrance and service to millions of people around the world," 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 collective presence on the Donate Life float offers dramatic testimony to the lives that are saved and healed through organ, eye and tissue donation. Some were literally days away from death when the generosity of donors and their families gave them a second chance. Now they inspire others to sign up on their state donor registries."

New Life Rises, which marks the donation and transplant community's seventh appearance in the Rose Parade, features a phoenix, the mythical symbol of life coming out of the ashes of death and rising from a bed of flames into the sky. The Donate Life phoenix represents those who give life in their passing and the people whose lives are renewed through transplantation. 

The bird soars high above the riders who are seated along a replica of the National Donor Memorial's Wall of Names at the headquarters of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) in Richmond, Va. Adorning the bird's tail feathers are dozens of floragraphs - portraits created with floral materials - of deceased donors who gave life to those in need. In addition, donors across the country will be memorialized in a garden of roses dedicated through the Donate Life Family Circle program, with each rose vial carrying a personal message of love, hope and remembrance. 

More than 28,000 lives like the ones described here are saved each year in the U.S. through organ donations. These gifts give hope to the more than 103,000 people now awaiting transplants, 18 of whom are dying daily due to a shortage of organs. In addition, a single tissue donor can save and heal 50 others through needed corneas, skin, bone, and tendons that are used to prevent or cure blindness, heal burns or save limbs.

"There is one reason why we work for more than 15 months to create a meaningful float experience each year," stressed Stewart, "and that is to inspire people to sign up to be organ and tissue donors. Lives hang in the balance, and transplants transform the lives of both those who give and those who receive."

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses is a volunteer organization that annually hosts the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game® presented by Citi. The 121st Rose Parade will take place Friday, Jan. 1, 2010, at 8 a.m. Following the Rose Parade, the 96th Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi will kick off at 2:10 p.m. and feature an exciting match-up between two of the top teams in the country.