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Jeff Patierno, Associate VP, Clinical Operations
News | January 14, 2025

Gift of Life Michigan promotes Jeff Patierno to vice president, hires new director of organ services

Gift of Life Michigan is proud to announce new promotions and additions within its clinical leadership team. Jeff Patierno has been promoted to vice president,…

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Ossium Health is working to find more sources of life-saving bone marrow for patients in need. Organ donors are now giving marrow through Gift of Life Michigan and other organizations.
News | January 9, 2025

2024 was a year of historical firsts and innovation for Gift of Life Michigan

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…

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Marge Del Greco, two-time liver transplant recipient and Legacy Award recipient
Blog | December 12, 2024

2025 Champions Gala

Congratulations to the 18 people and organizations we will recognize at Gift of Life Michigan’s seventh Champions Gala on May 2. They were selected from…

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Tom Brock received a heart transplant in 1989.
Blog | December 12, 2024

Transplant Throwback: Tom Brock

Name: Tom Brock Age: 65  Home: Hartland Transplant: Heart Why did you need a transplant and when did it happen?  In the summer of 1987,…

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Sarah Jelsomeno holds up her Donate Life license plate
Blog | December 11, 2024

Donate Life license plates drive awareness

Readers share their messages  The back bumpers of thousands of vehicles across the state sport the Donate Life logo specialty license plate which encourages residents…

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Man in scrubs in OR
Blog | December 11, 2024

Facts about tissue donation

Donors give life, sight and mobility to thousands  Q: Can anyone be a tissue donor? A: People of all ages and medical histories should consider…

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Image of a brain that is green on left (on green background) and blue on right (on blue background)
Blog | December 11, 2024

Facts about brain death and how it’s determined

The organ donation process is carefully regulated for patient safety and conducted with the utmost respect for donors and their families. Organ procurement organizations (OPO)…

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Carla Mendoza Bussell received a double lung transplant, allowing the mother of four to finish raising her kids and meet her grandchildren.
Blog | December 11, 2024

Gift of Life launches annual appeal for financial giving

Gifts pay for efforts to grow the Donor Registry  Gift of Life’s annual fundraising appeal is underway with an email campaign and a brochure mailer…

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Michael Love, two-time double lung transplant recipient, is a Gift of Life volunteer
Blog, Stories of Hope | December 10, 2024

Volunteer Spotlight: Two-time lung recipient gives hope to those waiting for a miracle of their own

When Michael Love woke up groggy from his lung transplant surgery in 2015, he instinctively felt his nose for the cannula that had delivered life-sustaining…

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Dr. Tim Frankel is leading critical research into deadly pancreatic cancer with the help of organ donors from Gift of Life Michigan.
Blog | December 10, 2024

Gift of Life organ donors provide the ‘holy grail’ of pancreatic cancer research

Groundbreaking Michigan Medicine partnership ‘has the potential to help thousands’  Dr. Tim Frankel is in the midst of groundbreaking research into pancreatic cancer, and the…

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Donor mom Kathy Vogelsang holding a framed photo of her daughter, Rebecca
Blog, Stories of Hope | December 10, 2024

A donor mom becomes leader in the donation community

Kathy Vogelsang lends vision as chair of Gift of Life’s Governing Board  Kathy Vogelsang said goodbye to her daughter, Rebecca, as the bright and funny…

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Sheila Alston has worked as a nurse for more than 40 years
Blog | December 9, 2024

Staff Spotlight: Sheila Alston has been saving and healing lives for 40 years

As a busy manager in Detroit-area hospital emergency departments back in the 1990s and early 2000s, Sheila Alston read letters to her staff from Gift…

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Tim Schramm holding a photo of his father, Ray, in military uniform
Blog, Stories of Hope | December 9, 2024

“Precious gifts saved my dad.”

One family’s story of tragedy, skin donation and 26 years of borrowed time Roy Schramm shouldn’t have survived.  With burns over 60% of his body,…

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A donor is wheeled into Gift of Life's operating room on a gurney.
Blog | November 27, 2024

The Facts: The organ donation process

Making the decision to become an organ donor upon your death is the first step in the organ donation process. But before a patient can…

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A physician consults with the family member of a patient.
Blog | November 27, 2024

The Facts: What is first person authorization?

Choosing to sign up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry gives you the opportunity to create a lasting impact on others’ lives. Making that decision…

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