News

“But God” chronicles difficult life that led to a decision to save others Sara Schmidt’s final act saved two lives. A registered organ and tissue donor, her gifts saved two other women – one in…

House Bill 4060 would increase awareness, provide education on organ and tissue donation State Reps. Lori M. Stone (D-Warren) and Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) introduced House Bill 4060 Wednesday. This legislation would encourage physicians at…

“I always tell people to sign up,” Grosse Pointe Woods woman says Vickie Figueroa makes her living ensuring that people of Black, Hispanic and Native American heritage are included in the Catholic Church and cared…

Gift of Life Michigan helped a record 463 people become organ donors and 1,821 give the gift of tissue last year, saving thousands of lives and healing tens of thousands more. The 2022 figures represent…

Donation will support award-winning youth education program Pamela and Krishna Sawhney of Bloomfield Hills have donated $125,000 over five years to Gift of Life Michigan to support the organization’s award-winning student education program, All of…

HB 4762 protects disabled patients, helps save lives Legislation approved in the Michigan House of Representatives today will help ensure equity within the organ transplant system in the state. House Bill 4762, sponsored by State…

Michigan woman meets son’s heart recipient Two years after her son died, Teena Smith heard his heart beating once again. Joseph Reaume died at 41 in 2020. Smith, along with Reaume’s three adult sons, agreed…

About 2,400 patients are waiting in Michigan this month for a life-saving organ transplant. The best way to save their lives is to grow the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. More than 90% of all registrations…

New partnership will ask hunters, anglers to ‘Check Your Heart’ Hunters and anglers in Michigan will now be asked a new question after they purchase or renew their licenses through the Michigan Department of Natural…

Gift of Life Michigan joins national ‘Living it Forward’ initiative to advance next million Ann Arbor, MI – The U.S. organ donation system has made history, surpassing 1 million organ transplants, according to the United…

  On Saturday, Aug. 27, a $10,000 grant was presented to the Gift of Life Foundation in honor of a Julia Evans, a heart recipient and cancer survivor, who inspired many. Sandy Chekal, an employee…

The annual LIFE Walk/Run drew nearly 2,500 people to Belle Isle in downtown Detroit for the event’s 25th anniversary honoring life, celebrating donor heroes and their families and promoting the Michigan Organ Donor registry.

Team Michigan is participating in more than 20 competitions and 60 special events through Wednesday, Aug. 3 at the Transplant Games of America in San Diego. Competitions range from pickleball to golf and tennis, basketball, track and field events, Zumba, poker, cornhole, bowling, badminton, and much more. There are also quilt-pinning ceremonies, a parade, workshops, and an expo designed to promote organ and tissue donation and celebrate recipients and donors.

Supporters of organ and tissue donation, including transplant recipients, legislators, volunteers and more joined Gift of Life Michigan in Lansing to celebrate new life, honor donors and their families, and to urge others to sign up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry at a Check Your Heart rally on the capitol steps.

Minorities often wait longer for organ transplants. Patrick Price is hoping he will one day receive a new kidney and return to the catering business he loves, but he knows he faces challenges getting there.   Patrick was diagnosed with diabetes at age 13, and lost a leg due to complications more than a decade ago. A recent surgery on his other heel means Patrick doesn’t meet the health requirements to be placed on the waiting list – a situation he is determined to overcome.  

Gift of Life’s largest outreach event returns to the popular John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids on Aug. 13.  Donate Life Day at the Zoo returns to an in-person event after the primarily virtual platform…

Gift of Life Michigan and its partners, volunteers, donor families, and recipients are gathering in June at the state capitol building in Lansing to celebrate life and push for continued progress.  

New legislation introduced in April will help Michigan family doctors and urgent care centers provide patients with information about organ, tissue and bone marrow donation.

Gift of Life Michigan honors donors, recipients and volunteers during national observance April is National Donate Life Month, designed to raise awareness of the importance of registering as an organ, eye, and tissue donor to save…

Gift of Life is using a new organ care system that preserves lungs outside the body and extends the amount of time from surgical recovery to transplantation. The TransMedics system also reconditions marginally healthy lungs after they’re connected to the machine, making more lungs healthy enough to transplant. The result: More lungs available and improved quality of the organs for recipients. Without this system, donated lungs must be transplanted within six hours. In these cases, transplants were successful after seven hours. One set of lungs was preserved for 23 hours.