Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) joins The Living Legacy Foundation (The LLF) in dedicating roses for the Rose Parade Donate Life float to honor the generous patients and their families who have given the gifts of life and hope as organ, eye, or tissue donors or donors in spirit. The rose dedicated by PRMC President/CEO, Dr. Peggy Naleppa, MS, MBA, FACHE, will accompany sixty roses dedicated by The LLF as part of the Donate Life float in the January 1st Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. The float is the centerpiece of a national effort of more than 50 organizations to reach a broad audience with the simple, life-giving message that organ, eye, and tissue donation saves and heals lives.
“We have been partners with the Living Legacy Foundation for a number of years and every year become prouder of the life-saving efforts that have been achieved through our support of and commitment to organ and tissue donation,” said Dr. Naleppa. “It’s an honor for our PRMC team to join them in bringing national attention through the Rose Parade to the benefits of donating life.”
The theme of this year’s Donate Life float is “Teammates in Life,” which reminds us that no one succeeds alone. Donors save the lives of grateful recipients and help families heal. It is the community of generous donors, including donors from PRMC that save thousands of lives through transplantation each year. The Donate Life float will feature portraits of donors and be propelled by a team of 24 organ, eye, and tissue transplant recipients. The dedicated roses will be part of the float’s “ocean waves,” made up of 1,000 white Akito roses.
So far this year, there have been thirteen organ donations and thirteen tissue and cornea donations by families at Peninsula Regional, with this number expected to increase through the end of the year. It is because of the continued partnership with The LLF and PRMC’s commitment to honoring donation that many lives over that last year have been saved and enhanced.
In Maryland, about 3,800 people are waiting for a life-saving transplant. Nationwide, that number is almost 120,000. Peninsula Regional Medical Center supports The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland in its mission to facilitate donation and transplantation and to educate the public about the life-saving power of donation and transplantation.
For more information about organ, eye, and tissue donation and to register as a donor, please visit www.donatelifemaryland.org or www.thellf.org.
