AlloSource, Tissue Recipient Join 'Stars of Life' Affected by Organ and Tissue Donation Aboard Donate Life Float in 2009 Rose...( CENTENNIAL Colo. Dec. 29 /- AlloSourc...)

CENTENNIAL, Colo., Dec. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- AlloSource, one of the nation's largest non-profit providers of skin, bone and soft tissue allografts for use in surgical procedures, will this year sponsor one of the 26 float riders aboard the annual Donate Life float in the January 1 Tournament of Roses Parade(R). The float, now in its sixth year, is a tribute to the millions of people touched by organ, tissue and blood donation, including living donors, donor families, transplant recipients and transplant candidates.

The AlloSource-sponsored float rider, May Chen, is a tissue recipient who saw her life changed by the gift of tissue donation. Chen will ride aboard the Donate Life "Stars of Life" float with 25 other riders including transplant recipients, living donors, and family members of deceased donors. In keeping with the "Stars of Life" theme, the float riders will be immersed in a spectacular shower of stars climbing more than 30 feet in the air, representing all the people who make the gift of life possible.

Chen is eager to participate in the float to celebrate the gift of life that impacted her own life and career several years ago. Chen is an internationally recognized martial artist and Tai Chi instructor, teaching primarily at the Fremont Adult School, Ohlone College. She also serves as the President of the Health Qigong Association USA.

In 2005 a severe knee injury threatened to end Chen's career altogether, until a tissue transplant gave her new hope. Her knee was saved after she received a fresh tissue transplant from a young donor who lost his life in a car accident.

Since her transplant, Chen has returned to martial arts competition with continued success. She serves as judge in international competitions in the Bay Area and in 2006, as a member of the U.S. Wushu team, Chen won two individual World Championship medals in China. When she returned home, she sent the med
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