Oceanside 7-year-old Gavin Raceles was posthumously honored with an award-winning OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade Float at the 135th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Monday.
In 2019, Gavin told his parents he wanted to be the "World's Biggest Superhero."
Little Gavin achieved his dream. A few weeks after telling his parents that, he died from intestinal malrotation. He saved three lives by donating his organs.
What happened at the Rose Parade 2024 in Pasadena?
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Gavin's organs became twisted, cutting off his blood supply. Healthcare workers tried, but were not able to save him. His parents wanted their son's wishes to come true and worked with Lifesharing to donate his organs.
The float won the Judges Award for the most outstanding float design and dramatic impact.
Nonprofit Lifesharing chose Gavin as their "Rose Parade Honoree" for 2024 and featured his floral portrait, along with others, on the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade Float in a memorial to organ donors across the U.S.
Lifesharing found matching recipients for his heart, liver and kidneys.
Before receiving one of Gavin's kidneys, Calexico resident Daniela Castro spent almost two decades on dialysis, according to the nonprofit. She now calls Gavin her angel.
