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Arab American

We are partnering with healthcare professionals and community leaders to ensure information about organ donation is culturally sensitive and consistent with faith beliefs.

The Community Spoke

And We Listened

Faith, family and culture play a large role in the decision to become an organ and tissue donor among the Arab American community. 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 in faith centers 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 about 110,000 people waiting for a life-saving organ, and about 60 percent of them represent racial and ethnic minorities. In Michigan, it’s about half the patients on the waiting list. This is a discussion that can save lives.

Community Conversations

Read Stories of Hope

Terra DeFoe, donor mother, stands in front of a church stained glass window

National Minority Donor Awareness Month

August is National Minority Donor Awareness Month, designated to heighten awareness about organ and tissue donation in multicultural communities. Originally observed in a single week in 1996, this awareness month is a collaborative effort by…

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A woman standing in front of a red brick wall holding a framed photo of a young boy

‘Organ donation was the right thing to do’

Muslim donor mom encourages conversation about organ and tissue donation: “We need to talk about it,” Nameer said. “You’re doing the most honorable thing in the world. You’re giving life to someone.”
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‘I don’t celebrate one birthday; I celebrate two’

Mustafa Sharafi always wanted to be a father. He was granted that wish more than three years ago, when his son Zain was born, and said he has been grateful every day since. “To have…

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Heart Transplant Recipient Breaks Down Cultural Barriers

Sometimes, life throws you a curveball. Mohamed El-Souri knows this better than most people. The 18-year-old Dearborn resident was a healthy, active teen who fell very ill while he was in high school. Doctors initially diagnosed him with pneumonia, but it turned out there was nothing wrong with his lungs – his heart was failing and he needed a new one.
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Arab American Muslim young man in sport jacket smiling at camera

Can Muslims Donate Organs or Receive Transplants?

Muslims in the U.S. often wonder whether organ donation and transplant are permitted in Islam. Until recently, the answer to that question has been less clear. Currently, there are nearly 115,000 American residents desperately waiting…

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We need each other.

A single organ donor can save as many as 8 lives. A tissue donor can help heal up to 75 others.

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