LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade® float, Let Your Life Soar, paid homage to the Japanese tradition of Children’s Day and shared the stories of six children honorees, as well as six others who either received their first lifesaving transplant when they were children, or who dedicated their lives to promote the good health and well-being of youth.
The beautiful float, which is a fan and media favorite among the iconic Rose Parade® lineup every New Year’s Day also received one of the highest awards from the Tournament of Roses judges, who bestowed OneLegacy the Extraordinaire Award for the most extraordinary float.
With ages ranging from 2 to 17 years old, these six children shared amazing stories of resilience, perseverance and hope.
The 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life float, Let Your Life Soar, featured two teenagers who received lifesaving transplants.
15-year-old Jaylee Bou-Silverio was the youngest float rider this year. Jaylee received her transplant when she was an infant from OneLegacy Ambassador and 2018 float walker, Elaine Jones. “Elaine gave me life, and I am so happy to be able to share my story and inspire others to say YES to organ donation at this year’s Rose Parade,” said Jaylee.
17-year-old Roza Saad was the second youngest float rider. Roza received a heart and double lung transplant at the age of 12, after being diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension. Thanks to her donor, Roza is now a thriving college student, growing stronger and actively serving others in her community. “This was the experience of a lifetime, and I will never forget being on the Rose Parade and connecting with other transplant recipients, living donors and donor families. I also want to thank my Donor Network West team for being the absolute best and making this experience so special,” said Roza.
Two additional transplant recipients received a lifesaving transplant at an early age, and one living donor gave the gift of life to an infant. They are:
- Angel Dominguez, a University of Iowa student who received a lifesaving heart transplant when she was just 8 months old,
- Harley Duffer, a 3-time heart and 1 time kidney recipient from Arizona, who received his first heart transplant at the age of 12,
- Josh Harrold, a two-time living donor from Anaheim Hills who is also a husband and father of two girls. He donated a lobe of his liver to an infant, who is now a thriving two year old.
Four children, whose images were memorialized with floral portraits or floragraphs were honored on the 2025 OneLegacy Donate Life float, these children’s parents made the difficult and courageous decision to say “YES” to donation, giving the ultimate gift of life to save and heal others through the power of organ, eye and tissue donation.
The four children honored on the 2025 OneLegacy Donate float include:
- Drake Ruiz, a 16-year-old cornea and tissue donor from Corona who healed many lives and who died in a hit and run accident,
- Hayden Elias, a 10-year-old soccer player who became a cornea and tissue donor, and whose parents honor his memory by promoting soccer goal safety,
- Jaxson Terrell Love, a 2-year-old organ donor from California who saved the lives of two toddlers,
- Sire Porchia, a 2-year-old heart valve donor from Eastvale, is not a child gone too soon, but a hero who left a legacy to be felt worldwide.
“We are so proud of sharing Sire’s story with the world as part of the 2025 Rose Parade on New Year’s Day,” said Alex Porchia and Alyssa Vanna, Sire Porchia’s parents. “We would like to thank OneLegacy for allowing us to connect with other donor families, by sharing the same experience of loss and grief. We focused on the positive and by donating Sire’s heart valves, we made the decision to help others avoid the same pain of losing a family member. May Sire’s Legacy live on in others. He bravely donated his most important organ, too, his strong heart.”
In addition to these children, three floragraph honorees dedicated their lives to serve children. They are:
- Dr. Raj Shah, a tissue and cornea donor, and an educator and pediatrician from Philadelphia who saved many children’s lives during his career,
- Joshua James Brennan, an organ donor from Davenport, Iowa, who served young students transitioning to college,
- Yasushi Iseda, an 80-year-old Japanese internment camp survivor from Riverside who dedicated more than 3 decades of his life as an educator for the Gardena School District.
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.
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.
