Watsonville resident who received liver transplant to participate in Rose Parade

A Watsonville teen will be one of seven organ transplant recipients to be honored in the Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Year’s Day by an organ procurement nonprofit, Donor Network West. 

The 18-year-old, along with several organ transplant recipients from Northern California and Nevada, will ride on the “Donate Life Float,” which highlights the “power of organ, eye and tissue donation.” 

Christian Gomez has already received two liver transplants. He was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a chronic liver disease, shortly after birth. The rare liver disease affects the bile ducts that drain the liver, which causes the bile to build up and damage the liver. Biliary atresia is the most common cause of liver transplants for children in the United States, according to Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. 

“Honestly, it’s a really big thing,” Gomez told Lookout. He added that he’s excited because it’s his first time at the parade and an opportunity to meet with other people who’ve had organ transplants like him. 

Gomez received his first liver transplant at nine months old after his doctors determined his mom, Maria, was a match, according to a media release from the organization. The piece of liver donated by Gomez’s mom allowed him to enjoy his childhood and teen years. 

However, the medications Gomez took over the years scarred his liver which affected his other organs and made him very sick. “It came to the decision that I had to get another transplant,” he said. 

In 2024, he was placed on the national transplant list again at age 17, and after nearly a year of waiting, Gomez received a new liver in May that will give him the opportunity to live longer and pursue his dreams. Currently, Gomez works as a caregiver, helping people with disabilities, which he says brings him a lot of joy. He has plans to start his own real estate business in the future. 

Gomez remembers the day his mom told him that he would be getting a new liver. It was a day full of emotions, he said. “I was in high school, my mom came in, running, with tears, and I looked confused. I didn’t know what was going on,” Gomez said. 

His mom, Maria, told Lookout that her son’s participation in the Rose Parade is an “incredible way of honoring him, but also helps bring awareness to organ donation, especially to people his age. 

“Him being honored is also a way of representing other recipients that have received an organ or that are awaiting one to go ahead,” she said. Maria added that she’s excited to see her son atop Donor Network West’s float on New Year’s Day. “I’ve been asking him to start practicing his wave,” she joked. 

Gomez said he’s very grateful to the family who donated their loved one’s liver. “I’m very thankful to [them] for giving me the chance to get another opportunity at life,” he said. He and his mom encourage community members to consider becoming an organ donor.