Ann Arbor – Putting school rivalries and competitive spirit to a new purpose, college students across the state are encouraging their peers, professors and local community members to sign up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry.
During the six-week Gift of Life Campus Challenge, Michigan colleges and universities are competing to see which school can sign up the most people to the Donor Registry.
“Michigan college students are some of the most compassionate, generous supporters of organ, tissue and eye donation,” remarked Richard Pietroski, chief executive officer of Gift of Life Michigan. “With the high levels of energy and enthusiasm these young people bring to our life-saving cause, we know the Campus Challenge will be a success again this year.”
Since its inception in 2004, the Gift of Life Campus Challenge has inspired more than 31,000 people to join the state’s Donor Registry.
Participating colleges will encourage students, alumni and other supporters to sign up on the Donor Registry through social media, poster displays and at donor registry sign-up stations in student unions and athletic events.
Scores are shown in real time on Gift of Life Michigan’s website. Two trophies will be awarded at the end of the competition, one to the school with the most donor registrations and one to the school with the most registrations compared to student population. Wayne State University in Detroit and Siena Heights University in Adrian won the trophies in last year’s competition.
“Signing up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry is an easy, quick way to give hope to the 3,400 residents of our state waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, and tens of thousands more who need cornea and tissue transplants to improve the quality of their lives,” Pietroski added. To sign up and credit your favorite school, visit GiftOfLifeMichigan.org/CampusChallenge, and select the school’s name from the drop-down menu provided.
The Gift of Life Campus Challenge is one of the most successful organ donation college outreach programs in the nation, and has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services for its exceptional results.
Gift of Life Michigan is the state’s federally designated organ and tissue recovery organization, which acts as intermediary between donors, their families and hospital staff. Gift of LifeMichigan, in collaboration with the Michigan Eye-Bank, provides all services necessary for organ, tissue and eye donation.
