Register as a Donor
Donor family meets recipients for first time as they decorate floragraph to be used in Rose Parade
WHAT:
The Espinos, a donor family from Fort Worth, will meet for the first time three of the people who received the gift of organ donation. The family of Stella Espino will also put the finishing touches on the floragraph, a portrait made of natural materials that will adorn the Donate Life Rose Parade Float on New Year’s Day.
WHEN:
Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011 @ 1 p.m. (Media should arrive by 12:15 p.m.)
WHERE:
DFW Airport, "D-terminal" Admirals club.
WHO:
Dr. Lee Paul, left kidney recipient- 60 years old
Larry Dale Mooneyham, liver recipient- 63-year- old Vietnam War Veteran
Scott Tucker, right kidney recipient- 52 years old
Family of Stella Espino, organ donor- 44 years old, Spanish speaking
SPECIFICS:
Stella Espino of Keller, Texas was only 44 years old when she died Feb. 25, 2010. Because of Stella’s generous and selfless decision to donate her organs, she was able tosave the lives of five people, including Scott Tucker, her right kidney recipient, Dr. Lee Paul, her left kidney recipient and Larry Dale Mooneyham, her liver recipient and countless others through tissue donation. Juan and his daughters will travel to Pasadena, Calif. on Dec. 29 to ride in honor of his wife with 28 other float riders on New Year’s Day.
News media will have the opportunity to learn the following:
- How all four families, donor and recipients feel about meeting one another
- How the recipients and their families felt when they received the news that they would have a second chance
- How the Espino family feels about their decision to donate Stella’s organs
- Why recipients needed organ transplants and what they have been able to do post transplant
- How the Espino family feels about Stella being honored in the 2012 Donate Life Rose Parade Float
- Facts and figures about organ and tissue donation in the state of Texas.
LOGISTICS/PARKING:
Guests should park in the "High End" (gates 28-40) of the D-terminal parking garage. There is normally ample 2-hour parking and unless folks plan to stay longer, this should make parking a breeze. Please then proceed to the high-end ticket counter of American Airlines. We have two counters in the D-terminal - this is the high-end gates counter (again, gates 28-40). For our media folks, this is the "wishbone" end of the ticket counter. I'll have a sign for "Life-Gift at the end of the counter for a special position to obtain passes. Proceed to the "D" Admirals Club once through airport security checkpoint. The club is between gates D-23 and D-24. Proceed upstairs once you've checked in downstairs and proceed to the "Club TV Lounge."
About LifeGift
LifeGift is a not-for-profit organ procurement organization dedicated to recovering organs and tissue for individuals needing transplants in 109 Texas counties in North Texas, Southeast Texas and West Texas. For more information, go to www.lifegift.org or 1-800-633-6562.
About Cytonet
Cytonet is an internationally active biotechnology company which is located in Weinheim and Heidelberg in Germany and in Durham, NC in the U.S. The company develops, produces and markets cell therapeutic products. Cytonet’s goal is to provide alternatives to existing therapies for many diseases with a particular emphasis on liver diseases. Cytonet is a pioneer and leader in the field of regenerative medicine. For the past several years, Cytonet has worked with internationally-leading metabolism and neonatal centers to study its liver cell therapy, which uses healthy and metabolically functional human liver cells collected from donated livers not suitable for transplant for infusion to treat urea cycle disorders in children. For more information, please visit Cytonet’s website at www.cytonetllc.com.
The Pasadena Tournament of Roses and Donate Life Rose Parade Float
The Pasadena Tournament of Roses is a volunteer organization that annually hosts the Rose Parade® presented by Honda, Rose Bowl Game® presented by VIZIO and various associated events. The 123rd Rose Parade presented by Honda and themed Just Imagine…, will take place on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, at 8 a.m. (PST) featuring majestic floral floats, high-stepping equestrian units and spirited marching bands. Following the parade, the 98th Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO will kick off at 2:10 p.m. and feature an exciting match-up between two of the top collegiate football teams in the nation. For additional information on the Tournament of Roses please visit the official website at www.tournamentofroses.com.
For more information about the Donate Life Rose Parade Float, visit the official float website at www.donatelifefloat.org.
