MUNSTER — There were tears and smiles of remembrance as families gathered with Community Healthcare System staff members, Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network representatives and Indiana Lions Eye Bank officials to honor the area’s organ, eye and tissue donors.

The fourth annual Donate Life Rose Dedication Ceremony was held Nov. 5 at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts to formally send-off roses that will make up the Donate Life float in the 2015 Rose Parade. Each of the 55 roses sponsored by Community Hospital in Munster, St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago and St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart now carry tags with messages on their vials of love from the donor families.

Organ and tissue donations save and heal hundreds of thousands of adults and children each year in the U.S. alone. Indiana residents can register their intent to be organ and tissue donors while obtaining or renewing their drivers’ license. Registration also is accepted at donatelifeindiana.org.