Riverside: Organ donor to ride Rose Parade Float

The Press-Enterprise | Darrel R. Santschi

Johnny Edward Ortega, 17, of Riverside, will join 27 other organ donors on the ‘One More Day’ float on Jan. 2

Johnny Edward Orta, a 17-year-old Riverside boy who donated a kidney to his twin brother, will be riding in the Tournament of Roses Parade.

Orta, a student at Cal State San Bernardino, is one of 28 organ donors who will be riding “One More Day,” a 55-foot-long parade float entered in the 2012 Rose Parade by Donate Life, a nonprofit organ donation support group.

On May 10, 2010, Johnny Orta donated a kidney to his identical twin brother, Jake Edward Orta, who had suffered from kidney disease since birth. Jake had undergone an unsuccessful transplant earlier.

Read more: http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20111202-riverside-organ-donor-to-ride-rose-parade-float.ece