The Community Spoke
And We Listened
Faith and family play a large role in the decision to become an organ and tissue donor among the Latinx 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
Transplant Throwback: Guadalupe Alejos
National Minority Donor Awareness Month is crucial to saving more lives
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…
Fenton couple draws on experience to promote organ donation
“I never knew what it was like to feel normal”
‘I wanted some good to come from it’
Muskegon mother marks two-year-anniversary of son’s death, organ donation Muskegon, MI – Amanda Garza has a printed version of the last text she received from her son, Nathanael. It reads: “I’m just thinking of you…
‘I see life in a different way now’
Aimee Cruz would be the first person to tell you she’s lucky to be alive. Originally from Puerto Rico, the Ann Arbor resident has had three liver transplants in her life and is grateful for…
Gift of Life Michigan honors National Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month offers an opportunity to celebrate the culture and contributions of Hispanic and Latinx people and to highlight issues they face today. It runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 every year, recognizing…
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.
