More than 206,000 joined Michigan Organ Donor Registry
2024 was a year of growth, innovation and finding new ways to help patients in need for Gift of Life Michigan.
The state’s organ and tissue donation program helped 533 people become organ donors and a record-breaking 1,960 give the gift of tissue. Thanks to the generosity of organ and tissue donors, 1,119 organs were transplanted, transforming the lives of countless patients needing bone, tendons, heart valves and more.
“Our numbers represent progress and lives touched across our state and nation. They reflect generous donors, and their families and lives saved and healed because of their decisions,” said Dorrie Dils, Gift of Life’s president and CEO.
The number of organ donors was the second highest; 2023 set a record with 578.
Tissue donation hit new milestones in 2024, seeing a 5% increase from the prior year which originally set the record of 1,858. May 2024 was a record-setting month for the organization, with 197 people giving tissue to heal those in need. More than 1.5 million Americans receive a tissue donation graft each year.
“Tissue donors have a tremendous impact on the lives they help heal,” said Dils. “For the patients who have experienced a traumatic accident or are suffering from a debilitating illness, tissue donation can dramatically change someone’s life.”
The Michigan Organ Donor Registry grew in 2024, with 206,000 people documenting their decisions to save the lives of others. Much of that growth is attributed to the 2023 Check Your Heart Act, which allowed residents to join the Donor Registry when they filed their state income taxes. More than 14,000 taxpayers checked the box for the first time. Michigan was the first in the nation to allow residents to sign up as organ, eye and tissue donors this way.
Gift of Life also made history in transplantation in 2024. Through its partnership with Ossium Health, a clinical-stage bioengineering company in San Francisco, a Michigan organ donor saved the life of a 68-year-old Flint woman. She needed an urgent bone marrow transplant to treat her leukemia. She was the first patient in the world to successfully receive marrow from a deceased donor.
“The year brought change and challenges, and the team met them with resilience, adaptability and a commitment to innovation,” said Dils. “Through strengthening relationships with our partners both old and new, we were able to save lives and honor the legacy of those who made the selfless decision to donate.”
More than 2,500 patients are currently waiting for that lifesaving transplant in Michigan. More than 100,000 are waiting nationwide. The best way to save lives is by joining the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. To register or learn more about the donation process, visit giftoflifemichigan.org.
