AVH honors organ and tissue donors

LANCASTER — Antelope Valley Hospital and OneLegacy held a ceremony recently to thank the families of AVH organ and tissue donors for their loved ones’ life-saving and healing gifts.

At a Donate Life Rose Dedication Ceremony on Nov. 9, hospital staff presented family members with a certificate of appreciation, a silk dedication rose and a flower vial, which will be placed on the Donate Life float in the 127th Rose Parade.

Senator Sharon Runner, who received a life-saving double lung transplant in 2012, shared her story and thanked all the families for their courage and compassion.

“I will always be grateful for the selfless generosity of my donor and her family for giving me a second chance at life,” Runner said. “These families have sacrificed so much to help others, and I am thankful for the opportunity to recognize them.”

Fifty families were invited to the ceremony. The families wrote personal messages on their flower vials to be placed in a rose dedication garden on the 2016 Donate Life float.

“We are deeply grateful to the donors and their families for their generous decision to give the ultimate gift of life and help others in need,” said AVH Chief Executive Officer Lex Reddy. “It is our privilege to provide families an opportunity to honor donors in such a meaningful way.”

The 13th Donate Life parade float, entitled “Treasure Life’s Journey,” will feature a colorful caravan with 60 donor medal-inspired floragraphs honoring deceased donors.

Twenty-four transplant recipients will ride the float, and 12 donors will walk alongside the float carrying flower-accented fruit. Dedicated roses, placed by people touched by donation, will form floral jewels around the base of the float.

[Information via news release from Antelope Valley Hospital.]

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