Launched in April 2007, the third annual Astellas Ride of a Lifetime contest asked organ transplant recipients to write an essay describing how their life has been transformed by transplantation for a chance to participate in the 2008 Rose Parade^® – one of the most celebrated entertainment events in the world.

Each winning organ transplant recipient, plus one guest, will travel to Pasadena, California to meet other transplant recipients from around the country, work with the Donate Life team to help build the Rose Parade float and attend special receptions honoring transplantation. Then on January 1, 2008, the five contest winners will ride aboard the 2008 Donate Life Rose Parade Float, themed “Life Takes Flight,” in celebration of those unique individuals whose lives have been touched by transplantation.

An independent third-party panel of judges, along with one Astellas representative, selected the five essay winners who best demonstrated the degree of transformation they experienced as a result of transplantation.

Astellas would like to thank all those who submitted essays to the third annual Astellas Ride of a Lifetime contest. Congratulations to the five winners who will experience the ride of a lifetime on January 1, 2008.

Here are the winners of the Astellas Ride of a Lifetime essay contest who will ride on the Donate Life Rose Parade Float in January:

• Tracy Copeland, 43
  Sparks, NV
  Liver Recipient

  My education regarding organ donation came fast and furiously, and after I had received the gift of life. The pink dot has always been on my driver’s license; it seemed like “the right thing to do.” I had no idea of the implications of that simple dot. I had no idea of the size of the transplant waiting list. I had no idea of the nature of the decision that would be made by a family faced with honoring the profound vision behind the dot.

  Click here to read Tracy’s story

• Claire Goudeau, 56
  Madison, WI
  Liver Recipient

I feel compelled to write this essay for the Ride of a Lifetime contest. Ironically, since pre-transplant I have felt that my life was a sequence of positive and negative rides. I, like many other people faced with transplant, thought my ride was over. My survival was dependent on someone selflessly donating a loved one's organ to me. I have worked as a nurse for 30 years. I suppose you could say that it was my calling. As a child, I frequently rescued injured birds or road turtles with broken shells. Going into nursing was just a natural progression. Over the years, I cared for many individuals that were in need of organ transplantation. I witnessed their rides through this process. Some people received an organ in time to continue their life journey and others did not.

Click here to read Claire’s story

• William Ismer, 63
  Plant City, FL
  Heart Recipient

In 1998 I had a first time heart attack at the age of 54. It left my heart badly damaged and I was told to prepare for the worst. With those words, I did just that. But what I thought to be the worst for my life, actually turned out to be the best. It's very true, only God knows best. I arrived at Tampa General Hospital in early January 1999 for a possible evaluation for a heart transplant. They gave me 48 hours to live. However, that was not the plan for my life. I was approved and put on the list for a second chance at life. That meant someone would have to die in order for me to live. It was very difficult for me. The long wait was difficult also. Day after day, month after month, I lived on 5A at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) where it became my home. The staff became my family.

Click here to read William’s story

• D.J. Lampert, 17
  St. Louis, MO
  Liver Recipient

I would like to share my story with you about how Transplantation has changed my life. I was diagnosed with biliary atresia at one month. At eight months a loving family gave me and my family the greatest gift of a lifetime, the second chance at life. I spent the first year and a half of my life in the hospital and the doctors said I was a week away from dying. The day my parents brought me home they said they knew I would make a difference.

Click here to read D.J.’s story

• Jill Miller, 39
  Saegertown, PA
  Kidney Recipient

At the age of 26, I was diagnosed with kidney failure, related to an undiagnosed case of strep throat. I was on dialysis for 18 months while I dreamed of getting a transplant. I had the opportunity to act as a patient liaison between the patients of my dialysis clinic and the staff as the Patient Representative for Network 4 (the Pennsylvania region). Helping others on dialysis spurred an interest in pursuing a medical career. Just two weeks before I started pre-med classes, I got “the call”. I had been on a first date with a new friend. After a day of fun, my cell phone battery ran out of juice and I asked my date to take me home. I arrived home to find 24 messages on my answering machine. I knew something had happened! The first message was from my transplant coordinator at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, offering me a healthy kidney. The other 23 messages were from friends and family trying to track me down! My date rushed me to the hospital to receive my new life-saving kidney transplant.

Click here to read Jill’s story

The Tournament of Roses Parade is a registered trademark of the Tournament of Roses Association.
* The Donate Life float is coordinated by OneLegacy, a non-profit transplant donor network serving 18 million people in Southern California.

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