UCLA Health System sponsors Donate Life float in Rose Parade to honor organ donors, recipients

Daily Bruin, University of California, Los Angeles | Samantha Masunaga

Stephanie McMackin never met the three young men whose photos she wore pinned to her shirt. But it is because of organ donors like them that she is alive.

McMackin honored their memories as one of the float riders on the Donate Life Rose Parade float, partially sponsored by UCLA.

The float’s theme? One More Day.

“It was the ride of a lifetime, such an emotional experience,” said McMackin, a 62-year-old Fullerton resident.

The float drew tears from both judges and spectators. One man along the parade route even lifted his shirt to reveal his own transplant scar, showing support for the float’s message of organ donation.

McMackin’s experience was much different from her original Rose Parade debut in 1967, when she rode on a Western-themed float as Miss Monterey Park.

Read more: http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2012/01/ucla_health_system_sponsors_donate_life_float_in_rose_parade_to_honor_organ_donors_recipients