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 them and others like them, fulfilling the decisions of donors and their families and saving and transforming lives through transplantation would be impossible.
LEGISLATIVE PARTNER
Sen. Kevin Daley, Lapeer County
Michigan state Sen. Kevin Daley knows all too well what organ donation means for families. His 23-year-old son, Thomas, died 14 years ago in a tree-cutting accident on the family farm.
Thomas saved lives as an organ and tissue donor. One year later, his father, then a state representative, sponsored legislation that was part of the package that created the Donate Life license plate in Michigan.
The Thomas Daley Fund was established from sales of those specialty plates to help promote donation in our state. More recently, Sen. Daley has sponsored and/or supported pivotal legislation that has advanced donation in Michigan, including the Check Your Heart Act.
COMMUNITY PARTNER
Consejo de Familia de Donantes de Michigan
The MDFC has been caring and advocating for donor families and promoting the Michigan Organ Donor Registry for 26 years. The 50-plus member group is one of Gift of Life Michigan’s most influential, active and accomplished community partners.
Its work last year with WDIV-TV in Detroit to plan and execute the Creating Comfort Blanket Event resulted in a record number of blankets made by volunteers at a single event. The 300 handmade blankets provide more than comfort for grieving families — they are cherished keepsakes and reminders of their loved ones’ life-saving gifts.
VOLUNTEER
Debora Dearring, Southfield
Debora Dearring lived at Henry Ford Hospital for nine months — seven of them waiting and praying for a double-lung transplant that would save her life. A donor’s lungs were matched, and Debora has been volunteering at a furious pace ever since.
Debora reassures nervous transplant candidates at Henry Ford Transplant Institute, visits churches, attends countless community events, tells her story, mentors transplant patients, and sets up her folding table just about any place that will let her. Her passion to educate the community and register new donors seems boundless.
In 2024 alone, Debora attended more than 25 events on behalf of Gift of Life Michigan.
MULTICULTURAL DIFFERENCE MAKER
Leslie Palacios, Grand Rapids
Fourteen years ago, Leslie Palacios was nearly blind when she received the gift of sight, allowing her not only to watch her children grow but to recognize their faces.
Her corneal transplants did more than restore her vision; they ignited a passion to share her story and connect with the Grand Rapids Spanish-speaking community to raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation.
Leslie registers donors at every opportunity, including at Fiesta Mexicana, the Muskegon County Latino Festival and similar events. Leslie participated with Eversight and Gift of Life to record her story in videos with Spanish translations, allowing her to speak directly to her community.
DONATION STORYTELLER
WDIV-TV, Detroit
WDIV-TV has been a partner for more than 25 years, helping Gift of Life Michigan tell important and moving stories about organ donation and transplantation.
In 2024, the station provided more than two hours of on-air coverage during National Donate Life Month, sharing compelling stories about one donor, his family and two transplant recipients.
WDIV also hosted a Creating Comfort Blanket Event that drew hundreds of volunteers who crafted blankets for the families of grieving donors. A record of more than 300 blankets went out the door that day.
EDUCATOR
Heather Willing, Grand Blanc High School
Health teacher Heather Willing invites Gift of Life’s Todos nosotros program into her Grand Blanc High School classroom each year because she knows it moves people. She was so inspired after experiencing the presentation the first time that she joined the Donor Registry.
Heather later welcomed the Grand Blanc View newspaper for two Gift of Life presentations of Todos nosotros and was a guest on the ABC12 Morning Show to talk about the program.
Heather also helped arrange for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and local media to visit her school last year for Gift of Life’s annual Donate Life Month press conference.
NURSE
Cessa Kellogg, Munson Medical Center, Traverse City
Cessa Kellogg has been instrumental in advancing organ and tissue donation at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. She created and takes care of the Gift of Life Legacy Cart to support donor families, as well as a national map identifying transplants made possible by Munson donors.
Cessa ensures cases run smoothly and educates staff about donation. Her leadership was key to Munson being named Gift of Life’s Hospital of the Year in 2024.
She’s innovative and passionate. Her care for donor families includes giving them keepsakes and all the support they need. Cessa also played a key role in Munson’s first directed donation, helping a deceased donor give life to someone they knew.
PHYSICIAN
Dr. Silas Norman, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Dr. Silas Norman, a renowned nephrologist at the University of Michigan, advocates for organ donation, and he has worked for years to ensure that underserved and marginalized communities receive life-saving transplants.
Dr. Norman regularly collaborates with Gift of Life to present on donation-related topics in online and other forums. His advocacy and research have shaped policies and programs that expand access to kidney transplants, particularly for vulnerable populations.
Dr. Norman is Board Chair of the Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP) in Detroit to promote organ donation awareness within minority communities.
HOSPITAL DONATION LIAISON
Christine Wilson, University of Michigan Health – Sparrow, Lansing
Christine Wilson’s father died waiting for a lung transplant, so her work at University of Michigan Health – Sparrow as the Lansing hospital’s liaison to Gift of Life Michigan is personal.
She channels that connection into her work. Christine was instrumental in the hospital’s decision in 2024 to raise the Donate Life flag, which now flies 24/7. She funds and stocks a Comfort Cart with memorial gifts for families, including an ink pad for donor fingerprints.
And it was Christine who gained approval from Sparrow’s board for a donor memorial at the hospital, now in the design phase by a local artist.
HOSPITAL STAFF — NURSE PRACTITIONER
Tim Lagasse, McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital, Petoskey
Tim Lagasse, a trauma surgical nurse practitioner, is dedicated to organ donation at McLaren Northern Michigan in Petoskey. He works with grieving families, Gift of Life and healthcare teams to honor the decisions of registered donors and help teams overcome barriers.
Tim actively promotes awareness, inviting donor families to events and educating colleagues on important donation procedures. He supports Honor Walks and ensures meaningful experiences for grieving families. Tim’s commitment to patients, families and the donation process makes him a true champion, providing compassionate care and honoring those who give the gift of life.
HOSPITAL STAFF — SOCIAL WORKER
Natalie Maes, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit
Social worker Natalie Maes is a gifted, empathetic communicator with families grieving the unimaginable loss of a child at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit.
She is also a passionate advocate for organ and tissue donation and an essential bridge between the hospital’s healthcare teams, Gift of Life Michigan and distraught families. In particular, Natalie helps Gift of Life discern when important donation discussions with parents and guardians should occur.
Natalie’s input and timing have been the difference for families that say yes to donation, allowing them to save other children amid their heartbreaking loss.
INNOVATION
Yvonne Jackson, Julie Kruithof and Nancy Bekken, Corewell Health Butterworth Hospital, Grand Rapids
Yvonne Jackson, Julie Kruithof and Nancy Bekken partnered with Gift of Life to launch the first systemwide electronic donor referral program in Michigan.
The process notifies Gift of Life that a patient’s condition makes them a potential donor. It replaces time-consuming phone calls by nurses and other busy staff.
The trio worked for more than a year with a company to design and launch the technology for Corewell Health West and to educate staff on how to use it. The healthcare system’s merger with Beaumont Health expanded its reach to 36 hospitals statewide.
The new system is critical because donor referrals are the first step in the donation process.
MEDICAL EXAMINER
Dr. Russell Bush, Saginaw County
A culture of donation exists in the Saginaw County Medical Examiner’s office thanks to the efforts of Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Russell Bush. Under his leadership, Saginaw County investigators are timely and accurate in their reporting of non-hospital deaths. Investigators helpfully note observations they know are important to the tissue donor screening requirements, and they sometimes reach out from the death investigation scene or hospital to report findings they think might impact donation.
For both organ and tissue donors, Dr. Bush’s policies are as nonrestrictive as possible, and his office works collaboratively with Gift of Life, allowing for the best possible donation outcomes.
FUNERAL PROFESSIONAL
Brian S. Merkle, Merkle Funeral Services, Monroe
Merkle Funeral Services in Monroe became an official Donation Champion Funeral Home last year, thanks to Funeral Director Brian S. Merkle. The funeral home is one of 59 in the state whose services support organ and tissue donation, honor donors and recognize their families.
Brian ensured that the very next donor in his care was formally recognized for giving life to others. He facilitated a Donate Life pinning ceremony for grateful family members and used social media to let his connections and community know about the funeral home’s support for donation.
TRANSPLANT CENTER
Henry Ford Transplant Institute, Detroit
Henry Ford Transplant Institute is Gift of Life’s No. 1 champion for implementing an organ donation process that keeps organs healthier before transplantation.
The recovery method leads to better outcomes for recipients, particularly those receiving livers. Some Henry Ford transplant patients would not have survived without it.
Henry Ford surgeons are committed to helping Gift of Life with organ recovery surgeries and do so more than any other center in the state — even on short notice.
The transplant center — one of eight in Michigan — also has changed its criteria to accept healthy livers from donors older than 70, making more transplants available for desperate patients.
HONORING LIFE THROUGH DONATION
Debra Wyant, Donor Mother, Holton
Debra Wyant, the mother of Michigan’s first and only hand donor, has exemplified what it means to honor life through donation since 21-year-old Shayna Sturtevant became a donor nine years ago in Muskegon.
Debra’s first and truest example was giving special permission to donate the unique gift of hands. “Shayna would love to help someone else hold their loved ones,” Debra told Gift of Life. Shayna’s gift cleared the way for an Indiana grandmother to regain her independence after an infection led to a devastating amputation.
Shayna was a registered donor and also saved the lives of three recipients with six organs. She also donated tissue. She died after an ear infection abscessed to her brain.
Debra has spent nearly a decade celebrating her daughter’s incredible gifts, hoping to inspire others to join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry.
She is driven to tell her story to anyone who will listen, including several media outlets over the years. Last year she spoke to nurses, social workers and respiratory therapists at Gift of Life’s Inspiring Champions Symposium, moving many to tears.
In 2023, Debra told Shayna’s story to 400 people at Gift of Life’s annual Check Your Heart Rally in Lansing. Weeks earlier she hosted a fundraiser and helped pay for buses to transport donor families, recipients and others to the Capitol so they could attend.
Shayna left a 1-year-old son Ollie. He’s 9 now and says “Mama Shayna is a hero.”
HOSPITAL OF THE YEAR
Centro médico Hurley, Flint
Hurley Medical Center in Flint is the first to win Gift of Life’s Hospital of the Year award for a second time.
It also was named the best in 2020 — the second year for the annual awards.
In 2024, Hurley ranked second statewide in the number of organ donors with 29; another 25 donors gave tissue. Hurley was second only to Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, which has been the state’s leading hospital in organ donor volume for years.
Among Hurley’s greatest accomplishments is significantly improving the donation process by making more than 50 donor referrals from the Emergency Department.
The practice occurs at other hospitals but not with the same volume and level of commitment. Doing so enables earlier referrals, providing more time to assess patients and communicate with families. Referrals from the ER in Flint are made in such high volume that Gift of Life was invited to present at the national Association of Organ Procurement Organizations in 2024 to showcase the hospital’s practices and success.
Hurley also exhibits a strong culture of donation that starts at the top with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Jaggi, along with Director of Trauma Dr. Gul Raj Sashwani-Daswani. They’re compassionate, driven problem solvers who don’t hesitate to roll up their sleeves, and they set an example for their teams working alongside Gift of Life to save lives.
LEGACY
Marge Del Greco, Team Michigan, West Bloomfield
Two-time liver transplant recipient Marge Del Greco has spent more than 20 years giving herself to Michigan’s donation and transplant community.
Her road took her from the waiting list to recipient and relentless advocate, then back to waiting and another life-saving transplant. It entrenched her in our collective work to grow the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, remember donors, take care of their families and honor their gifts.
Marge has personally registered hundreds of people since a donor saved her life in 2004, and she almost certainly has inspired thousands to sign up through her years of involvement with the Michigan Donor Family Council.
Her legacy with Team Michigan alone is worthy of recognition. If not for Marge, there might not bea group of transplant recipients who travel across the nation to compete in the Transplant Games of America. She began as co-chair in 2012, and she eventually became president of the Board of Directors. Under her leadership, Team Michigan has united transplant recipients, living donors, donor families and other supporters, fostering a community that celebrates the gift of life and promotes donor registration.
Marge’s 20 years of quiet advocacy also includes volunteering with Gift of Life Michigan to dispel myths and encourage people to sign up as donors. Her multifaceted involvement exemplifies a life devoted to inspiring others to consider the profound possibilities of becoming organ and tissue donors.
