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African American Outreach

Despite a history of mistrust and misinformation, doctors will work just as hard to save your life.

The Community Spoke

And We Listened

It’s not uncommon for African Americans to be mistrusting of the health care system and skeptical of the organ and tissue donation process. We launched Let’s Talk to reach out to those communities, where people are more likely to need an organ transplant, yet less likely to sign up as donors. We talked with people in the community and encouraged them to share their stories, to break down misconceptions, to address myths and to encourage their neighbors, families and friends to sign up as donors.

In the U.S., there are more than 100,000 people waiting for a life-saving organ, and about 60 percent of them represent racial and ethnic minorities. In Michigan, it’s about 40 percent of the patients on the waiting list. This is a discussion that can save lives.

Community Conversations

Read Stories of Hope

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  • Let's Talk - African American

‘It’s all in Divine order’

Aarolyn McCullough knew she would need a liver transplant more than 10 years before her miracle happened. Diagnosed in the late 1990s with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, a disease that attacks the bile ducts in the…

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African American man in red chef uniform

Two-time kidney recipient inspires others to lead healthier lives

One minute Oliver Hale was on top of the world, the next he was flat on his back. Hale, a Kentwood resident, had just won his first United States Tennis Association tournament in 1983 and…

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50 fo fifty, Her spirit is truly alive

‘She had a higher purpose’

July 22, 2010, John Edmond got the call every parent dreads.
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earl_james_blog_2

Brotherly love: donated kidney provides second chance at life

Earl James has some advice for men who are inclined to ignore the typical aches and pains that come with age: ignore them at your peril.
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Fifty for 50 Robert and Wayne

‘My son lives on in others and he’s always going to live in me’

William Wayne McGee IV was known by several nicknames, including ‘Ugg,’ and ‘Fat Daddy.’ His mother, and at least one of the people he saved when his life was tragically cut short at the age of 33, have another nickname for him, too: ‘God’s Gift.’
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Let’s Have this Conversation Together

We invite you to join us in a virtual experience to elevate the conversation about the benefits of these lifesaving gifts. Talk to your families. Your friends. Your social networks.

We need each other.

A single organ donor can save as many as eight lives. A tissue donor can help heal up to 75 others.

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