Iowans Honored On Rose Parade Float

(Pasadena, CA) -- Two Iowans were being honored in this year's Rose Parade, organ donor Dominic "DJ" Ogden of Des Moines and organ recipient Melissa Nelson of Bettendorf. Ogden died in 2020, his floragraph was on the float. Nelson received a pancreas transplant in 2019 and rode on the float this year. Nelson tells WQAD she hopes to raise awareness about organ donation, "It's not just the person who is receiving the organ that changes their life, it changes an entire family," told WQAD. Families of Nelson and Ogden traveled to southern California to help decorate this year's OneLegacy Donate Life float and watch the parade.

The OneLegacy Donate Life float is part of a national campaign to help share the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation with millions of people who either visit Pasadena or tune in to watch the Rose Parade every year from across the nation and around the world. The 2024 One Legacy Donate Life Rose Parade® float theme, Woven Together: The Dance of Life, celebrates the power of organ, eye and tissue donation, with donors and recipients working together to support one another.