UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA STUDENT TO INSPIRE 'ONE MORE DAY' ABOARD THE 2012 DONATE LIFE ROSE PARADE FLOAT

A college junior, North Carolina native Kara Thio is the picture of a happy, healthy, successful student, thanks to the life-saving liver transplant she received as an infant, nearly 20 years ago.  On January 2^nd, she will be on national television as she rides the Donate Life float through picturesque Pasadena in one of the most famous and watched parades anywhere.

"I'm really excited to be a part of the Rose Parade. It's a great honor to have this opportunity to help represent the Gift of Life," says Kara.  She is sponsored by Carolina Donor Services, the area's organ procurement organization, an organization for which both Kara and her mother tirelessly volunteer.

Kara, a psychology major at UNC-Chapel Hill, was born with a condition called biliary atresia and her liver was failing. Kara needed a liver transplant before she turned a year old or she wouldn't survive.  It was 1992 and three-month-old Kara and her parents were living in Cary.  Due to a number of medical issues, Kara and her parents had to fly out to California in order to receive the medical treatments she desperately needed.  On June 1, 1992, Kara was put on the waiting list for a liver.  A mere 19 days later, eight-month-old Kara received her new liver.

Today, there are over 3,700 North Carolinians waiting for life saving transplants, more than 50 of those waiting are, like Kara was, under the age of 17.  The decision to donate is one Kara fully understands and appreciates.  At the young age of 7, Kara was able to meet her donor's family.  Evan Samata was only two years old when he tragically died.  However, his parents decided to give the ultimate gift and because of their brave and heroic decision, Evan's organs and tissues saved many lives, including Kara's.  The Samatas and the Thios have stayed close over the years and correspond regularly.

"There are so many people who helped me through my medical problems. I am beyond thankful to each and every one of them: my tireless parents who loved me so much to struggle along side of me and never give up, even when everything seemed to go wrong and of course, the Samata family, who made the decision to share the gift of life of their two-year-old son with me. Only because of their love and generosity, I lived."

Giant floral clocks will rise above Kara and the 27 other individuals whose participation as riders aboard Donate Life's ninth Rose Parade float will bring special meaning to ".One More Day" and embody the nation's most visible campaign to inspire people to save and heal lives as registered organ, eye, and tissue donors. The clocks symbolize the primary wish of those whose loved ones gave life in their passing or anyone waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. Most wish for the same thing: they simply wish for more time.

Kara has more time, thanks to the heroic generosity of the Samata family.  She has time to hang out with friends, to spend the holidays with her family, to work on her art and to sing with great joy and gusto around the house.

The Rose Parade is watched in person by hundreds of thousands of spectators on the parade route and is broadcast on multiple television networks in the United States and seen by millions more on television worldwide in more than 200 international territories and countries.

Organ and tissue donations save and heal hundreds of thousands of lives each year in the U.S. alone. Today, more than 112,000 candidates are on the national organ transplant waiting list. While donation rates nationwide are at all-time historic highs, due to the rarity of circumstances where organ donation is possible, only about 28,000 organs are transplanted each year. As a result, 18 patients die each day for lack of a donor, making every single donation opportunity precious.

The Donate Life float campaign is supported by more than 100 official sponsors from coast to coast, including organ and tissue recovery organizations, tissue banks, state donor registries, transplant centers, hospitals, funeral homes and affiliated organizations. All Donate Life float sponsors encourage parade viewers to save lives, like Kara, by registering in their states to be organ, eye and tissue donors.

About Carolina Donor Services

Carolina Donor Services is the federally-designated, non-profit organ and tissue donation organization serving 7 million people in 78 counties of North Carolina and Danville, Virginia.  Carolina Donor Services maximizes the passing of the heroic gift of life from one human being to another through organ and tissue donation.  In North Carolina, over 3,700 people are currently waiting for an organ transplant, and nationally, over 112,000 people are on the organ waiting list.  For more information, visit www.carolinadonorservices.org; call 1-800-200-2672 or write 3621 Lyckan Parkway, Durham, NC 27707.

For more information about the Donate Life Rose Parade Float, visit the official float website at www.donatelifefloat.org.