LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Forty-four honorees representing 9 states in the U.S. will be a part of the 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade® float on New Year’s Day. With ages ranging from 2 to 80 years old for floragraph honorees, and from 15 to 62 years old for floragraph honorees, these participants and their families will travel to Pasadena to be part of America’s Donate Life celebration on New Year’s day’s traditional Rose Parade®.
The 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life float, Let Your Life Soar, will feature:
- 10 riders who are organ and tissue recipients
- 8 walkers, who are living organ donors
- 26 floragraphs or floral portraits representing organ, eye and tissue donors who gave the gift of life to others
Float Riders
The 2025 Donate Life float 10 riders include a 15 year old liver recipient and a 17 year old heart and lung recipient, whose lives were saved thanks to organ donors, as well as 8 other amazing individuals who have dedicated their time to share their stories and inspire others to say “YES” to organ, eye and tissue donation.
The 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life float riders include:
- Aleah Hartung, an aesthetic physician assistant from Reno, Nevada, who received a kidney from her boyfriend, Blake Lalli, who will also be a walker on the float,
- Angel Dominguez, a University of Iowa student who received a lifesaving heart transplant when she was just 8 months old,
- Celina Medina, a two-time kidney recipient from Long Beach, whose life was saved by her brother once, and a second time by a deceased donor,
- Harley Duffer, a 3-time heart and 1 time kidney recipient from Arizona, who received a heart and a kidney transplant from Peyton Nurse, a young donor from San Diego,
- Jaylee Bou-Silverio, a 15 year old liver recipient from Bellflower and the youngest rider on the 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life float. Jaylee received her transplant when she was an infant from OneLegacy Ambassador and 2018 float walker, Elaine Jones,
- Jessica Horton, a cornea recipient and OneLegacy Ambassador from Lancaster who was born with congenital glaucoma, and whose sight has been restored 3 times,
- Jermell Robinson, a husband and father of two from Los Angeles who received a double lung transplant that saved his life,
- Juan Hernandez, a Mexican American from Northern California who received a kidney transplant after suffering from stage five kidney disease,
- Michael Rizzo, a retired paramedic and police officer from New Jersey who is a tissue and a heart transplant recipient,
- Roza Saad, a 17 year old college student from Iraq who received a heart and double lung transplant after being diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension.
Bios to the 2025 Donate Life float riders are available here: https://onelegacyfloat.org/si/participants/2025/riders.html
Float Walkers
Eight living donors, who gave the gift of life to others by donating their kidney or a lobe of their liver, will walk alongside the 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life float. One of this year’s walker honorees is a rare two-time living donor, who donated a kidney to a friend and a liver to an infant.
The 2025 OneLegacy Donate life float walkers include:
- Blake Lalli, manager of the Reno Aces who donated one of his kidneys to save the life of his girlfriend, Aleah Artung, who will also ride on the float,
- Cindy Zbin, an altruistic liver donor from California who loves to travel with her husband,
- Dominique Overturf, a lifelong giver from California who became and altruistic donor and started a 4-person kidney chain,
- Josh Harrold, a two-time living donor from Anaheim Hills who is also a husband and father of two,
- Luis Mayen, a long time organ donation advocate and professional who decided to become an altruistic kidney donor after seeing how the gift of life transforms lives,
- Patricia Gardner, an altruistic donor who wanted to help his children’s stepmother, but ended up becoming an altruistic kidney donor and starting a 6-person kidney chain,
- Tara Hernandez, a living kidney donor from Temecula who donated a kidney to a community member after learning that he needed a lifesaving transplant on social media, and who volunteers her time to inspire others as a OneLegacy Ambassador,
- Veronica Salas, the daughter of field workers who decided to donate one of his kidneys to save her father’s life.
Bios to all eight 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life float walkers are available here: https://onelegacyfloat.org/si/participants/2025/walkers.html
Floragraph Honorees
26 deceased donors, whose images are being memorialized with floral portraits or floragraphs on the 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life float, will be placed on the fish windsocks that will be soaring above the float. These donors gave the ultimate gift of life to save and heal lives through the power of organ, eye and tissue donation. The floral portraits were decorated using organic materials like cinnamon, rice, farina, coffee and other organic seeds.
The 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life float floragraph honorees include:
- Aaron Clark, a 50 year old husband, grandfather and organ donor from Oxnard,
- Athena Zepeda, a 20 year old MMA fighter and aspiring model from Whittier,
- Avriel Price, a young mother and organ donor from California,
- Celeste Covarrubias, a mother of 3 from Hesperia who suffered from placenta previa,
- Charles Torres, a 56 year old sports fan from San Bernardino,
- Christian Michael Bezenar, a 49 year old tissue donor from Colorado,
- Cody Enborg, a 24 year old music fan from San Bernardino,
- Corroundlet Sheard, a 60 year old grandmother from Pasadena who grew up watching the parade every year,
- David Compton, a young car and motorcycle enthusiast from Lakewood,
- Dr. Raj Shah, a tissue and cornea donor, and an educator and pediatrician from Philadelphia,
- Drake Ruiz, a 16 year old cornea and tissue donor from Corona,
- Elliot Rouff, a 31 year old Coast Guard veteran from Lake Forest,
- Hayden Elias, a 10 year old soccer enthusiast who became a cornea and tissue donor,
- Jaxson Terrell Love, a 2 year old organ donor from California,
- Jay Wallen, a 64 year old cornea donor from Sacramento,
- Joe Hecht, a hotel manager and organ donor from Missouri,
- Joshua James Brennan, an organ donor from Davenport, Iowa,
- Kaylinn Boling, a 23 year old tissue donor from Nevada,
- Nicholas Salazar, a 22 year old young man from Pico Rivera,
- Patricia Hamilton, a 49 year old hairdresser and organ donor from Orange,
- Peyton Nurse, a 21 year old cornea, tissue and organ donor from San Diego, whose heart and kidney recipient, Harley Duffer, will be a rider on the float,
- Philip Schwartz, a Los Angeles organ donor who cherished Jewish holidays and family traditions,
- Sharon Komanapalli, an 18 year old organ donor from Fresno,
- Sire Porchia, a 2 year old heart valve donor from Eastvale,
- Truong Thai, a 49 year old Las Vegas police officer who became a cornea and tissue donor,
- Yasushi Iseda, an 80 year old Japanese internment camp survivor from Riverside.
Bios to all 26 floragraph honorees for the 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life float are available here: https://onelegacyfloat.org/si/participants/2025/floragraphs.html
The OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade float is produced by OneLegacy, designed by Charles Meier, built by Artistic Entertainment Services (AES) and made possible thanks to more than 20 sponsors, including: Bridge to Life, Dignity Memorial Providers, Donate Life California, Donor Network West, Iowa Donor Network, JRF Ortho, LifeNet Health, Lifesharing, Manhattan Stitching Company, MTF Biologics, Midwest Transplant Network, Nevada Donor Network, NJ Sharing Network, OneLegacy, Palm Mortuaries & Cemeteries, RTI Donor Services, Specialist Direct, UCLA Health and Walgreens.
As the world’s most visible campaign to inspire organ, eye and tissue donation, the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade® float inspires viewers to help the over 1 million people in need of organ, eye or tissue transplants each year. Register today to become an organ, eye or tissue donor by visiting registerme.org.
