Indiana Donor Network to launch statewide floragraph tour

11/10/2016

2017 Donate Life Rose Parade Float will honor two Hoosiers

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Indiana Donor Network and Donate Life Indiana are again teaming up with the Donate Life Rose Parade Float for the Tournament of Roses Parade in California. This year two Hoosiers will be among those honored on the float, which raises awareness about the lifesaving impact of organ, tissue and eye donation and transplantation.

The theme of the 2017 float is "Teammates in Life" and Indiana Donor Network's two honorees uniquely personify that. The image of Tracy Driscoll, 41, from Wabash, will be memorialized on the float in a floragraph and Kirby Cochran of Greenwood, will be a float rider in the parade. Driscoll died in January 2013 of a brain aneurysm and a heart attack. She saved three lives as an organ donor, one of those being Cochran's. He had liver disease caused by lupus and received Driscoll's liver via transplant at the age of 44.

Before the Donate Life Rose Parade Float sets sail down the streets of Pasadena Jan. 2, Indiana Donor Network is touring Driscoll's floragraph around the state, stopping first at Lutheran Hospital. As one of Indiana's three transplant centers, Lutheran Hospital, part of Lutheran Health Network, is a valued partner of Indiana Donor Network's in increasing awareness about donation and transplantation.

BACKGROUND:

• Indiana Donor Network and Donate Life Indiana have participated in the Tournament of Roses Parade since 2009.
• The Donate Life Rose Parade Float is the world's most recognizable campaign to highlight the importance of organ, tissue and eye donation. Together with the float riders, the floragraphs share the message that donation and transplantation saves and heals lives.
• A floragraph is a portrait of a deceased organ, tissue or eye donor that is created with spices, seeds, floral and organic materials.
• The 2017 Donate Life Rose Parade Float will depict a Polynesian catamaran "propelled" by organ, tissue and eye transplant recipients (Kirby Cochran). The "sails" of the vessel will feature the floragraphs (Tracy Driscoll).
• The 128th Rose Parade will take place on Jan. 2, 2017 in Pasadena, California.

FACTS:

• Nearly 1,500 Hoosiers and more than 120,000 people nationwide are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants.
• In the U.S., another person is added to the transplant waiting list every 10 minutes.
• Each day, 22 people on average in the U.S. die because a donated organ wasn't made available in time.
• One organ donor can save the lives of as many as eight people.
• One tissue donor can enhance the lives of more than 50 people.
• More than 3 million Hoosiers are registered to save lives. Indiana law allows each individual to decide if they want to be a donor.
• Hoosiers inspired to register their decision to become registered donors can do so here.

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About Indiana Donor Network
Indiana Donor Network is one of 58 designated organ recovery organizations in the United States and coordinates organ, tissue and eye donation throughout the state. Indiana Donor Network is devoted to public education about donation and transplantation with the goal of saving and enhancing more lives. For more information about Indiana Donor Network or to register your decision to become a donor, visit IndianaDonorNetwork.org.

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