Donate Life Float To Honor Olathe Donor Chad Stacy At Rose Parade
USA: A Donate Life float built by the Midwest Transplant Network will roll through the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day to honor the life and gift of a local organ donor, Chad Stacy of Olathe. The float, carrying the network’s theme “Treasure Every Moment Together,” is expected to pass before millions of viewers and spotlight the community of donors, recipients and families connected by transplantation.
Stacy, who died in 2017, is being remembered not only for his life but for the reach of his donation. Organ and tissue donated after his death have been credited with helping 159 people. His mother, Linda Isaac, says she is proud of her son and has since registered as a donor herself; the family’s decision and the scope of the impact are central to the parade presentation.
The float will feature a portrait of Stacy created with natural materials — described as a fluorograph-style image — positioned alongside transplant recipients who will also be part of the display. The presentation will highlight a range of reconstructive and restorative procedures made possible by donation, including breast reconstruction for cancer survivors, care for burn victims, and revision or ligament surgeries such as ACL repair, underscoring the variety of ways donated biological material benefits patients.
Family, friends and those touched by Stacy’s choice came together at the Midwest Transplant Network to complete the portrait and prepare for the parade. The gathering and the float aim to celebrate donors as heroes, to recognize the human stories behind donation, and to encourage viewers to consider joining the donor registry so future patients might receive the same second chances that Stacy’s gift enabled. The family plans to travel to California to attend the Rose Parade in person.
