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In December 2023, Patricia Laughlin was diagnosed with PCP pneumonia. Patricia had previously been diagnosed with Myasthenia gravis in 2017, a neuromuscular disorder that takes over your bones and immune system. She was immunocompromised and…

Robbie Oxley loved superheroes. On Sept. 19, 2020, the 6-year-old became one. Robbie was left brain dead after a tragic accident near his home two days earlier. Many of his friends, family, first responders and…

Name: David Rozelle Age: 86 Home: Kalamazoo, Michigan Transplant: Heart Why did you need a transplant and when did it happen? I had a serious heart attack in 1984 and made it to a hospital…

Here are the basic facts about first-person authorization, what it means and how it works here in Michigan and other states that adopted the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act or Law.

Congratulations to the more than 20 people and organizations recognized this year for their extraordinary efforts to promote organ, eye and tissue donation in Michigan. Without them, and others like them, Gift of Life’s efforts…

Pat Folkertsma-Garrett left a gift of more than $15,000 to Gift of Life Michigan — one of the largest the organization has received. The money will pay to educate communities about donation and fund critical work to grow the Michigan Organ Donor Registry.

Gift of Life Michigan had another record year in 2023 with a record 578 organ donors and 1,858 tissue donors last year, saving hundreds of lives and healing tens of thousands more. The 2023 figures represent a significant 25% increase in organ donors over the previous record in 2022 and a 2% increase in tissue donors.

“I get emotional about my work because I love helping people,” Leslie Casperson said. “I’m honored to work for Gift of Life Michigan and I can’t imagine doing it any other place than with the champions of donation in northern Michigan.”

“A lot of people gave me things when I needed them.” A year after his heart transplant, the now energetic Evan has big plans to do what he can in return.

Ben and Karen Hayes knew no one could care for the foster boy like they could A 7-year-old boy in the foster care system was recovering from a life-saving liver transplant when two strangers walked…

Tattoos are a lasting and creative way to express love and creativity for the people and ideas that matter in life. We’ve seen a lot of meaningful ink from members of the donation and transplant community over the years.

A new state bill requiring a one-hour organ donation presentation for ninth graders in Michigan public schools is up for consideration in the Michigan House of Representatives this spring. That will begin the legislative review process to potentially add Michigan to a list of other states already providing donation education in schools.

Having a child is a life-changing experience. With all of the baby preparation, doctor’s appointments, and the planning- chances are you haven’t been too focused on things like what you’re going to do with the…

Donating a kidney can help save somebody’s life, and Gift of Life Michigan works to provide resources for donors, recipients, and families. However, not everyone is qualified to be a living kidney donor (although you may…

Organ donation has long been one of the most selfless acts someone can provide. Generous donations of blood, plasma, kidneys and other organs have helped people live through medical emergencies and stay healthy for decades…

Munson’s John Stanifer, MD and ICU Manager, Eric Jean also to be recognized. Gift of Life Michigan has announced that in April it will honor Munson Medical Center (MMC) as Hospital of the Year along…

The liver is an important organ. It filters toxins out of your blood. You can’t live without one for more than a few days. Can a living person donate a liver? You might have heard…

The placenta is a one-of-a-kind organ that plays a significant role in pregnancy. It assists in transmitting oxygen and essential nutrients between the maternal and baby’s blood and removes waste from the baby’s blood. Besides…

There are several tissues that one can donate to save lives. This includes cornea, tendons, veins, skins, and bones. We usually hear much about organ donation, but tissue donation is quite different. Unlike organs, which…

New board members will bring fresh perspectives and ideas to the table Gift of Life Michigan is proud to announce three new members joining its Governing Board of Directors.            …

More than 213,000 people join Donor Registry Gift of Life Michigan helped a record 578 people become organ donors and 1,858 to give the gift of tissue last year, saving thousands of lives and healing…

Malinda Herrera becomes a living donor to offer hope Malinda Herrera has been a passionate advocate of organ and tissue donation for years as a nurse on the Neuro Intensive Care Unit at Sparrow Hospital….

I’m here because 32 years ago I received a life-changing gift. Sight is an easy thing to take for granted and, like so much in life, you don’t realize how much you rely on it…

I was familiar with Gift of Life and its life-saving mission, but why was she calling me? My dad was 86, with multiple health issues. His heart and lungs had failed him. His skin was old and thin. What could he possibly donate? “One of my colleagues is still researching your dad’s medical history,” Jacy said, “but he may be able to donate bone.” What Jacy needed to know from me now was pressing: Were we willing?

Gift of Life Michigan celebrates the passage of a law that prevents health insurers from denying or limiting coverage for living organ donors in this state. The law specifically prohibits insurers from denying or limiting life, health or long-term care insurance because someone decides to be a living donor.

Tickets available for the popular April Gala Gift of Life Michigan will soon announce the names of about 20 donation champion award winners which will include Hospital of the Year, Legacy and Honoring Life through…

Sherry Johnson shares her experiences as a heart transplant patient who waits again Sherry Johnson was so exhausted she couldn’t walk her two little boys to the bus stop. Brushing her teeth wiped her out….

“This isn’t just a job or career for me,” Taniesha Carswell said. “It’s a passion. There’s no other job I could love this much, knowing that every day we’re saving lives through education, getting people to put that heart on their ID.”

Not much will stop this volunteer from telling his story Chris Kowalski won’t let much get in the way of telling people about organ donation. Not even Detroit Tigers superstar Miguel Cabrera. Chris talked to…

I had my heart transplant in April 1997, after years of serious health complications caused by a heart attack and cardiac arrest in 1989. Since my transplant, I have enjoyed an overall healthy life. At my last check-up at the heart transplant clinic, my doctor gave me an A-.

The new Check Your Heart law will place the organ and tissue donation question on Michigan income tax forms for the 2023 tax year and beyond. Michigan is the first state to offer the opportunity to register to be a donor this way.

Understanding religious perspectives on organ and tissue donation One of the misconceptions or barriers that repeatedly arise in conversations about organ and tissue donation is whether it’s permitted based on the beliefs of one’s faith. To address this, Gift of Life Michigan created “A Matter of Faith,” a video that discusses the important role of faith in the realm of donation. Its production was supported by members of the InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit.

Organs and transplant teams are probably on board Ever wonder what that passing SUV covered in organ and tissue transplant branding is all about? You probably ask yourself, who or what is inside? Where is…

John Edmond barely gave it a thought as a woman from Gift of Life Michigan entered his young daughter’s room in the pediatric Intensive Care Unit. He knew his 7-year-old would not survive her accidental…

Unprecedented 500 donors save lives so far in 2023 Michigan’s organ and tissue donation program has broken another record by reaching the 500 organ donors mark in a single year with more than a month…

Gift of Life Michigan celebrates the passage of a law that prevents health insurers from denying or limiting coverage for living organ donors in this state. Sen. Kevin Hertel sponsored the measure (SB 384), which…

A new bill introduced in October in the Michigan House would require education about organ, eye and tissue donation for 9th graders in public schools statewide. Twenty-four states, including neighboring Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana, require it. Michigan does not. As a result, double the percentage of young people register as organ donors in those states when they get their first driver’s license.

“I can look in the mirror every day and not be reminded of the hell I went through.” Curpri Sanders experienced the happiest time in her life and the saddest in the same month. As…

In this series we are looking back with transplant recipients and learning how they are making the most of their second chance at life. In this issue we talk with Guadalupe Alejos, who received a kidney transplant from his brother 50 years ago!

Life was “exceedingly rich” for Rachel Kuntzsch when it nearly slipped into darkness forever. She was happy, 44 and her Lansing consulting firm was thriving. Rachel was a strong, vibrant mom, friend, daughter and wife….

Michigan residents who haven’t yet added their names to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry will have a new and easy way to do so in 2024. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the Check Your Heart Act…

One of Gift of Life Michigan’s smallest donors – baby Jade Townsend, who lived for just 55 minutes in 2021 – saved the life of another infant this spring. But perhaps her most compelling and lasting legacy is an important protocol change. That’s because Gift of Life Michigan – on behalf of Jade and her parents – asked LeMaitre Vascular in Massachusetts to consider taking Jade’s valve despite her birth weight of just 3 pounds, 7 ounces.

Gift of Life Michigan's "Check Your Heart" campaign is using data and telling the stories of donors, their families and organ and tissue recipients whose lives are changed by their gifts.

The celebration of excellence will expand in 2024 to allow for greater sponsorship and partnership opportunities and higher attendance with individual tickets available for sale for the first time.

There’s a buzz in the air when Gift of Life Michigan educators arrive at a school with their red trunk of supplies and plasticized real human organs used to teach about donation and transplant. The All of Us education program is a real draw. “Everybody hears that we’re there,” said Alison Gillum, senior community relations coordinator at Gift of Life. Curious teachers pop in for a look. Students chatter about it in the halls. “When we leave, the people in the office tell us, ‘We’ve been hearing about you guys all day.’”

One of the greatest myths related to organ and tissue donation is that there’s a strict age limit and that older people couldn’t possibly save the lives of others. That couldn’t be farther from the…

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. The days and months were long and she was…

Gift of Life Michigan has worked for years to find new ways to increase the use of donor organs for transplantation. One five-year study, in particular, revealed such dramatic and significant findings that Michigan’s organ…

“I love taking care of people,” Cindy Zarate said. “When I was 7, my aunt walked into my grandma’s house wearing a white nurse’s hat, white shoes and uniform. She looked just like an angel and that’s when I knew I wanted to be a nurse.”

Gift of Life’s largest West Michigan outreach event returned this week to the popular John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids with a new twist. This year, more than one thousand Donate Life Night at the…