Gift of Life Michigan Community Outreach Coordinator Shalonda Griffin’s late husband Greg was the ‘greatest person she has ever met.’
“He put the color in my world,” she shared. “I always think about the “Wizard of Oz”, everything in Kansas was in black and white and then once they got to Oz it was in color. I feel like that’s how my life was with Greg.”
They met on a blind date set up by a mutual friend. While Shalonda was hesitant at first, Greg’s persistence paid off. Early in their relationship, Greg shared that he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of thirteen.
“I remember thinking, so you can’t eat a lot of cake,” she said. “I didn’t know all that I know now about diabetes. I didn’t understand the havoc it could wreck on your body.”
In 2013, while playing piano during a family wedding, Greg started experiencing flu like symptoms.
“It was super-hot in the reception area and Greg for whatever reason was just freezing cold,” Shalonda said. “His mom and I left the reception to take him to the ER. That’s when he was diagnosed with kidney failure.”
A year after his diagnosis, Greg was placed on the kidney transplant waiting list. As a couple, they faced the reality of the unknown, navigating a system they knew nothing about.
“Neither of us knew anything about organ donation,” she said. “I wasn’t a registered organ donor. We didn’t know anyone who received a transplant and didn’t know anyone who needed one. The first thing I did was get tested because I also didn’t understand how matching worked. We were very scared. It was frightening.”
They started to educate themselves and others, creating flyers, speaking at community events, and sharing Greg’s story in hopes of finding a living donor. The experience opened their eyes to the urgent need for organ donors and the lack of awareness surrounding it.
“I worked at the public library, and they were very gracious, allowing me to post flyers about Greg,” she said. “That’s when I met two Gift of Life Michigan volunteers, Deb Gustafson, and Alena Christian. They became some of my closest friends at that time because they had either already walked that walk or they were walking the same. They helped me feel less alone.”
Shalonda became Greg’s primary caregiver, balancing work and home responsibilities while ensuring he received the best care possible. She witnessed firsthand how kidney failure drained his strength, turning a once vibrant and strong man into someone who struggled with daily tasks. The stress, responsibility, and emotional weight of caregiving was taking a toll.
“I remember Greg had lost some weight at that time because when you’re on dialysis your diet’s very limited,” she said.” An acquaintance of ours commented that he looked good and asked how we were doing it. I explained that he’s dealing with kidney failure, he’s on dialysis. They looked me in the eye and said, ‘I wish I could get on dialysis.’ I wouldn’t wish dialysis on anyone, but that played into the isolation I felt because people just don’t get it.”
Shalonda started volunteering at Gift of Life in 2017. When the community outreach coordinator position for Flint/Saginaw popped up, she immediately applied and got the job.
“I remember Greg being very proud of me,” she said. “We gave a news interview, and he said, ‘when she first started, it was to help me, but now she’s helping everyone and I’m really proud of her for that.”
In the seven years Greg was on the waiting list, he received only one phone call for a potential donor. It was a call that did not lead to a transplant.
“In 2020 we were doing a lot of check-ins with our transplant coordinator,” she said. “She was thinking that he would hopefully receive something by the end of the year, but I guess we’ll never know because he didn’t live to see the end of the year.”
That November, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Greg fell ill. Unable to stay at the hospital due to COVID restrictions, Shalonda didn’t have the chance to say her goodbyes to the husband she loved and cared for. He passed away on November 24, 2020.
Returning to work following Greg’s passing wasn’t easy, but she found purpose in his memory. When asked what keeps her going, she said, “knowing how proud Greg was of me and the work I was doing. I feel like this work keeps me connected to him.”
Shalonda dedicates her time to educating communities about organ, eye and tissue donation, ensuring that others understand the urgency of becoming registered organ donors. She knows the pain of waiting, the helplessness of watching a loved one suffer, and the heartbreak of an opportunity that never came.
“Someday, my time on this earth will come to an end. I can’t change that,” she said. “But if in my passing, I can help a husband spend more time with his wife, a mom share more moments with her children, or best friends create more memories—why not?”
More than 2,600 patients in Michigan are waiting for that lifesaving organ. The best way to save lives is by joining the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. To join, visit golm.org/signup
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