SC Launch Company Bridge to Life Honoring Texas Organ Donor at 2011 Rose Parade

Submitted by: Ashley Hannah on Nov 04, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Source: SCRA

COLUMBIA, SC – November 3, 2010 – Bridge to Life, Ltd., an SC Launch company, and LifeGift, a Texas-based organ donation group, have announced today that they will honor a Houston-area organ donor, Chad Jones and his family at the 2011 Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, California on New Year’s Day.

Each year the Donate Life organization sponsors a float at the Rose Parade, with the joint purpose of honoring families of fallen organ donors, while also spreading the word of the growing need for organ donation. This float has been a staple of the Rose Parade since 2004, with themes ranging from a “Symphony of Life” to last year’s award winning “New Life Rises” theme, which featured a phoenix rising from the names of the donors. This year, the float will be called “Seize the Day”, reminding people to do just that, and become an ogan donor.

Bridge to Life, a South Carolina-based supplier of life-saving organ preservation solutions, and also an SC Launch supported company, chose to sponsor a Texas-based family.

“There are thousands of people touched each year by the gift of organ donation – on both the donor and recipient side,” stated Aaron Gilchrist of Bridge to Life. “But we were especially touched by the way this family took one of the toughest moments of their lives, and are now making a difference.”

While Chad Jones will be remembered on the 2011 Donate Life Rose Parade Float for saving the lives of four strangers, his parents Mike and Sheree of Katy, TX continue to create organ donation awareness through their nonprofit organization, Donate 4 Life, founded in their son Chad’s honor.

In late 2009, the Jones family founded Donate 4 Life, which encourages Texans to become registered organ and tissue donors. The family also works closely with LifeGift, the local organ and tissue recovery agency, to work towards this goal.

“We are a family who does not want our son to be forgotten. Even though Chad died, he is a hero and we want him to save many more lives, not just the lives he donated to,” said his mother, Sheree. “Being part of the Donate Life Rose Bowl Parade Float is yet another way for his legacy to live on and raise awareness of the importance of donation.”

In their son’s memory a floragraph- a portrait created from all-natural, floral components- of Chad will be created for this year’s float, along with 59 other floragraphs of organ, eye and tissue donors from across the country.

Bridge to Life and Organ Donation in South Carolina

While over 28,000 people receive organs each year in this country, there are more than 109,000 people on the waiting list, and this number keeps growing. Even with continued advancements in medical technology, it all comes back to availability and the need for more people to sign up to become donors.

Bridge to Life, an SC Launch company based in Columbia since early 2009, is a supplier of life-saving organ preservation solutions both domestically and abroad.

“When we first accepted Bridge to Life into the SC Launch program, we were excited by the technology and what it could mean for individuals and families dealing with the organ transplant process,” stated SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney. “It is truly rewarding to see the real-life impact that companies like Bridge to Life are making. Bridge to Life is truly committed to not only the business of organ transplant technology, but also the people that it helps.”

Furthering the company mission of supplying the “gold standard” of preservation solutions, Bridge to Life is also partnering with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston to continue research in improving and prolonging preservation for transplantable organs.

Registering as an organ & tissue donor is simple and it’s free. It can be done one of the following ways:

• Via online at www.Every11Minutes.org, hosted through a collaboration of Donate Life SC, and LifePoint, the non-profit organ procurement organization covering the state of South Carolina.
• Through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when renewing vehicle registrations in person or online.