Pa. Liver Transplant Recipient To Take Part In Tournament Of Roses Parade Next Week
By David Madden
SHIPPENSBURG, PA., (CBS) -- This time next week, we'll be celebrating a new year. And for one Central Pennsylvania man, that'll be a very special day. He'll be on a float in the Tournament of Roses Parade in California, helping to bring attention to organ donation.
Thirty-eight-year-old Wes Mallicone had been Director of Sports Medicine at Shippensburg University for 14 years. Four years ago, he got a life saving liver transplant. "This procedure has allowed me to live a life and have an opportunity that I've never felt before," Mallicone told KYW Newsradio.
Mallicone has been talking up organ and tissue donation ever since. The Gift of Life Donor Program selected him to be their representative on the Donate Life America float.
His reaction? "I was very stunned, surprised but at the same time very honored and humbled for the opportunity to represent so many individuals locally and across the nation who support and have been a part of organ donation."
He'll be one of two dozen recipients on the float who will be joined by a dozen living donors walking alongside.
Mallicone is taking his parents and his girlfriend along for the week long experience. He just hopes the brief appearance on national television will get people thinking about organ donation, and some to actually sign up.
