Family Shares the Important Message of Organ, Eye and Tissue
Donation at LifeGift Headquarters
(Houston – November 26, 2019) – LifeGift, the federally designated organ and tissue recovery agency, which offers hope to individuals needing transplants in 109 Texas counties in Southeast, North and West Texas, was pleased to honor Rylen Quinn Cowan, affectionately known as Smilin’ Rylen, in a special Rose Parade floragraph ceremony, today. Rylen is one of 70 honorees at the 2020 Tournament of Roses Parade. The Cowan family was invited by LifeGift to honor their son on a floragraph appearing on the Donate Life Rose Parade Float.
A floragraph is a portrait created with floral and other organic materials such as spices or seeds, which will appear on the Donate Life America Rose Parade Float. The floragraph ceremony is held in advance of the parade and provides the family with the opportunity to honor their loved one in the decoration of the floragraph. Rylen’s family joined LifeGift and Memorial Hermann’s leadership today to complete the decoration of the floragraph created by Donate Life volunteers. This was a very special and emotional ceremony as Rylen’s parents and brother personally decorated the eyebrows on their son Rylen’s floragraph.
“It is paramount to champion the cause of organ, eye and tissue donation and its message of hope through our participation of the Donate Life Rose Parade float,” says Lauren Quinn, vice president of external relations at LifeGift. “We are thankful we can be a part of this celebration of life in honoring Rylen Quinn Cowan who gave the ultimate gift of life.”
The 2020 Donate Life Rose Parade float, Light in the Darkness, highlights the power of unity, light and love, as celebrated during Southeast Asia’s Diwali, or the Festival of Lights, a celebration of light shining in the darkness. The many lives touched by donation embody the hope inherent in this festival. Award-winning float designer, Charles Meier, created the float’s beautiful design, and Fiesta Parade Floats will produce it this year.
The annual Donate Life Rose Parade float is one of the most visible campaigns to inspire organ, eye and tissue donation. There are more than one million people in need of organ, eye or tissue transplants each year. For more information on LifeGift, visit www.lifegift.org. To register as a lifesaving organ, eye and tissue donor, visit www.donatelifetexas.org.
About LifeGift
Established in 1987, LifeGift is a nonprofit 501 (c)3 organization that offers hope to individuals needing transplants in Southeast, North and West Texas. A founding member of Donate Life Texas, the organization that runs the organ, eye and tissue donor registry and a member institution of the world-renowned Texas Medical Center, LifeGift services 10 transplant centers and 240 donor hospitals. It is accredited by the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) and the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB). For more information, visit www.lifegift.org, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram.