Governor signs HOPE Act into law

Governor Whitmer holding up the signed HOPE Act papers

Legislation enables organ transplants from HIV-positive donors to HIV-positive patients

 

Ann Arbor, MI – The HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act is now law in Michigan. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the legislation in December, with a formal signing ceremony tentatively scheduled for early next year.

“We thank Governor Whitmer for signing the HOPE Act into law,” said Dorrie Dils, CEO of Gift of Life Michigan. “Before the HOPE Act, Gift of Life Michigan had to send organs from HIV-positive patients out of state instead of saving HIV-positive patients here in Michigan. The HOPE Act, introduced by State Rep. Felicia Brabec and now signed into law, would remove that restriction.”

The HOPE Act was approved in 2013 and enacted nationally in 2015, but efforts to enact it here in Michigan have been unsuccessful. Brabec (D-Pittsfield Township), who serves on the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, introduced it in the House of Representatives in March and it was approved by the House in July. The Michigan Senate approved it in November.

“We are so fortunate to live in a state that is home to talented medical researchers and transplant teams who work every day to improve the science of saving lives through organ donation,” she said at the time. “This bill simply brings the state in line with federal law and frees up additional organs for Michiganders.”

Since 2015, 21 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the legislation. Transplants between HIV-positive donors and HIV-positive patients now take place at 36 hospitals and transplant centers across the country.

“This law will benefit Michigan patients, bring the state in line with federal law, increase efficiency, and give hope to residents waiting for these gifts,” said Dils. “Every time someone in our state receives a life-saving transplant, one less person is waiting, and there is more hope for those still in need.”

Learn more about the advocacy effort that went into passing the HOPE Act on the video below.

Two men and a woman in a livestream video

Read more in the Gift of LifeLINES newsletter

Read More Posts

Michael Love, two-time double lung transplant recipient, is a Gift of Life volunteer

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…

Read More
Dr. Tim Frankel is leading critical research into deadly pancreatic cancer with the help of organ donors from Gift of Life Michigan.

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…

Read More
Donor mom Kathy Vogelsang holding a framed photo of her daughter, Rebecca

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…

Read More
Sheila Alston has worked as a nurse for more than 40 years

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…

Read More
Tim Schramm holding a photo of his father, Ray, in military uniform

“Precious gifts saved my dad.”

One family’s story of tragedy, skin donation and 26 years of borrowed time Roy Schramm…

Read More
A donor is wheeled into Gift of Life's operating room on a gurney.

The Facts: The organ donation process

Making the decision to become an organ donor upon your death is the first step…

Read More
Scroll to Top