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Blog, News | June 18, 2025

Hundreds gather in Lansing for Gift of Life Michigan’s Annual Check Your Heart Rally

LANSING, MICH. – More than 300 donor families, recipients, living donors, patients waiting and advocates gathered on the steps of the Michigan Capitol for Gift…

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Blog, Stories of Hope | June 11, 2025

“It’s a journey of gratitude”

Kenneth Henderson lived with kidney disease from the age of 19. It wasn’t until he was 32 that he found out he had stage five…

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Blog, Stories of Hope | June 5, 2025

A father’s strength, a daughter’s gratitude

When Emily Willett’s father Jonathan was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a terminal lung disease that was rapidly scarring his lungs, she didn’t fully understand…

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Blog, Stories of Hope | June 2, 2025

A husband’s gift and a stranger’s selfless decision

When Sheila Jackson was just 17, her world turned upside down. Three weeks after high school graduation, she was in the hospital. Her doctors told…

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Capitol Rally March of Honor
Blog, News | May 28, 2025

Check Your Heart Capitol Rally aims to inspire next generation of organ donors

Gift of Life Michigan will bring hundreds of advocates, families, transplant recipients and supporters to the steps of the Michigan Capitol on Tuesday, June 17,…

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Blog | May 22, 2025

The generosity of strangers

When Maria Compagner from Holland was just two months old, her family received news no parent ever wants to hear. She had tumors on her…

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Blog | May 21, 2025

‘I miss the ability to be spontaneous’

Bernice Conn never expected a routine physical in March 2022 to change her life.  “I was completely shocked,” she recalled. “I just came in for…

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xray of a head
Blog | May 8, 2025

Understanding Brain Death

The concept of brain death can be confusing and difficult to process for loved ones. During brain death, the heart is still beating and the…

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Lisa Haney
Blog, Stories of Hope | May 7, 2025

Transplant Throwback: Lisa Haney

Name: Lisa Haney  Age: 54  Home: Detroit  Transplant: Heart  Why did you need a transplant and when did it happen?  My heart issues started as…

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Photos of transplant recipients on a mural at Gift of Life Michigan
Blog | May 7, 2025

A message to the donation community

From President and CEO Dorrie Dils Regulations pull donation and transplantation in opposite directions, resulting in thousands of unused organs  Recent news has highlighted the…

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Gift of Life staff holding their hands in the shape of hearts
Blog, LifeLines | May 7, 2025

Gift of Life’s employee giving hits a new high

Nearly one-third of Gift of Life’s 394 employees gave back financially to the organization last year, the highest percentage yet for the payroll-deduction program that…

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Gift of Life logo on its building
Blog | May 7, 2025

Gift of Life set records in 2024

Thank you to donors who healed lives and residents who registered on their tax forms  Gift of Life Michigan hit more milestones in 2024. The…

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His time as a nurse assistant at Mott helping pediatric heart patients is a full-circle experience for Tommy.
Blog, LifeLines, Stories of Hope | May 7, 2025

Tommy Schomaker survives and thrives helping sick kids like him

He graduated this spring with a nursing degree Tommy Schomaker entered the world in 2000 with half a heart. The otherwise-perfect 7-pound baby faced a…

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Dorrie Dils at the podium during the 2025 Champions Gala
Blog | May 7, 2025

Gift of Life Michigan’s 2025 Champions Gala

Congratulations to the individuals and organizations honored this year for their extraordinary efforts to promote and advance organ, eye and tissue donation in Michigan.  Without…

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Blog, Stories of Hope | May 7, 2025

A mother’s mission

When Cindy Hanback answered the phone and heard her son Alex’s voice, she thought he just had a cold.   “I had missed his original phone…

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