Young organ donor’s life remembered with special portrait at Valley Children’s Hospital

Saving the lives of four people through organ donation, the life of 10-year-old Francine Salazar was remembered at Valley Children’s Hospital with the unveiling of a floragraph portrait Tuesday.

Francine died two years ago when her family vehicle was struck when a driver ran a stop sign.

The floragraph portrait, made from thousands of seeds, spices, pieces of flowers, was featured as a part of the 2021 Donate Life Rose Parade floral sculpture called “Community of Life.”

The Visalia girl was remembered during the ceremony as a fun-loving, aspiring cartoonist and chef in the making; a loving sister of her four brothers and a friend to many.

Through the donation of her heart, pancreas and both kidneys, Francine became a life-saving hero at Valley Children’s.

The hospital in a statement said: “Francine’s gift and story not only made a remarkable impact in the lives of those she saved, but in the hearts of her community. For the first time in the hospital’s history, Valley Children’s doctors and staff held an honor walk to recognize Francine’s incredible gift. Her video has been viewed more than 10 million times on YouTube and continues to help bring awareness to the life-saving impact of organ, eye and tissue donation.”

August is National Multiethnic Donor Awareness Month, which aims to bring awareness to minority and multiethnic communities about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation. There are currently more than 100,000 men, women and children on the transplant waiting list in the United States. Minorities compromise nearly 60% of those on the national waiting list.

This story was originally published August 10, 2021 at 2:24 PM.