News

Find Gift of Life Michigan news and updates, as well as news relating to organ and tissue donation.

Ossium Health is working to find more sources of life-saving bone marrow for patients in need. Organ donors are now giving marrow through Gift of Life Michigan and other organizations.
Featured | September 17, 2024

Michigan organ donor contributes to historic bone marrow transplant

A Michigan organ donor has made history and saved the life of a 68-year-old woman from Flint, Mich. Suffering from leukemia, she needed an urgent bone marrow transplant and is now the first person in…

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Guests enjoyed free Dippin' Dots ice cream at Donate Life Night at the Zoo
Blog, News | August 17, 2023

Donate Life Night at the Zoo celebrates organ donors, transplant recipients and renewed life

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…

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Terra DeFoe, donor mother, stands in front of a church stained glass window
Blog, News | August 1, 2023

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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Hartley, the Gift of Life Michigan mascot, gives a high five to a member of Bobby's Rockers at the finish line at LIFE Walk/Run 2023.
Blog, News | July 24, 2023

Gift of Life Hosted Annual LIFE Walk/Run on Belle Isle

Gift of Life MOTTEP hosted its 26th annual LIFEWalk/Run event on July 22 on Belle Isle in Detroit. The event included a 5K walk and run, and a 10K run. The theme for the event…

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A group of Gift of Life staff, transplant recipients and legislators gathers around Governor Whitmer, who is seated at her desk and holding up the signed Check Your Heart Act
Blog, News | July 19, 2023

Gov. Whitmer signs bill to add Organ Donor Registry question to state income tax forms in 2024

Check Your Heart Act is the first of its kind in the nation. Groundbreaking legislation to bolster the Michigan Organ Donor Registry became law on Tuesday with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s signature on the Check Your…

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A large crowd gathered on the Michigan Capitol steps (including mascot Hartley T. Heart) holding Donate Life flags and banners for donor families, living donors, transplant recipients and those waiting to live.
Blog, News | June 26, 2023

Hundreds celebrate new legislation placing donor registry question on state income tax forms

Check Your Heart Act would be first of its kind in the nation More than 400 people in Michigan’s organ and tissue donation and transplant converged on the lawn of the Michigan Capitol in Lansing…

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President and CEO Dorrie Dils leans against a glass wall at Gift of Life Michigan
Blog, News | June 22, 2023

Gift of Life Michigan CEO named president-elect of association representing organ donation programs across the country

The Association for Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) has named Gift of Life Michigan President and CEO Dorrie Dils as its president-elect. The Saline resident will serve in the national role for one year before becoming…

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A large group gathered on the Michigan Capitol steps holding signs recognizing them as donor families, transplant recipients and those waiting to live.
Blog, News | June 19, 2023

Rally in Lansing will celebrate new legislation placing donor registry question on state income tax forms

Check Your Heart Act would be first of its kind in the nation As many as 400 people in Michigan’s organ and tissue donation and transplant community will converge on the lawn of the Michigan…

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May was a record month in Michigan with 63 organ donors providing 167 organs transplanted and 177 tissue donors.
Blog, News | June 5, 2023

Gift of Life Michigan breaks yet another state record for donors

Organ and tissue donors help hundreds in May   Gift of Life Michigan helped a record 63 people become organ donors and 177 gave the gift of tissue in May, saving and healing hundreds of critically…

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organ donation in ann arbor michigan
Blog, News | May 11, 2023

Bill to add donor registration option to tax forms passes Michigan House

Key legislation that would allow state income tax filers to add their names to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry is one step closer to reality. The Check Your Heart Act passed the House today. It…

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Female doctor holding open chart looking at the camera
Blog, News | April 26, 2023

Donor Registry Awareness Bill introduced in Michigan

NEW SENATE BILL WOULD INCREASE AWARENESS, PROVIDE EDUCATION ON ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION   Updated April 26, 2023 This week, Sen. Kevin Daley (R-Lapeer) introduced Senate Bill 287, which mirrors House Bill 4060 introduced by State…

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Gift of Life logo above the main entrance of the office.
Blog, News | April 14, 2023

Gift of Life sets organ and tissue records in 2022

Donation success in Michigan mirrors the national trend in saving and healing lives. Gift of Life Michigan helped a record 463 people become organ donors and 1,821 give the gift of tissue last year, saving hundreds of lives and healing tens of thousands more. The 2022 figures represent a significant 14% increase in tissue donors over the previous record in 2019 and an 8% increase in organ donors over 2021.  The records came as we hired more staff, spent more time on-site with potential donors and their families, and expanded our efforts to grow the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. 
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Patrick Wells-O'Brien is the VP of communications and external relations
Blog, News | April 13, 2023

Proposed state bills would educate and register more donors

Check Your Heart Act would add donation question to income tax form  Patrick Wells-O’Brien spends a lot of time generating innovative ideas about how to add thousands of names to the state’s Organ Donor Registry….

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State Representative Felicia Brabec, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, kidney patient Armond Baskin and his wife, Molly, stand in front of a Gift of Life Michigan / Check Your Heart banner after a press conference kicking off National Donate Life Month 2023.
Blog, News | April 5, 2023

Bill would add organ donor registry question to state income tax forms

If passed, Michigan would be the first in the nation to do so Key legislation introduced on March 24 would include an important question on state of Michigan income tax forms: Would you like to…

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Blue, white and green infographic showing 2022: A Record Year with 463 organ donors and 1,821 tissue donors
Blog, News | January 9, 2023

Gift of Life Michigan sets record for organ, tissue donors in 2022

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…

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Portrait of Krishna and Pamela Sawhney
Blog, News | December 22, 2022

Bloomfield Hills couple pledges $125,000 to Gift of Life Michigan

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…

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Blog, News | December 9, 2022

Legislation prohibits discrimination in organ transplant system

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…

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Senator Kevin Daly stands at a podium in front of a Check Your Heart banner on the Michigan Capitol steps
Blog, LifeLines, News | October 11, 2022

Gift of Life Michigan calls for action as Michigan Organ Donor Registry grows at the slowest pace since its founding

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…

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Michigan Department of Natural Resources logo
Blog, News | October 6, 2022

Gift of Life Michigan, DNR team up to save lives

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…

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Graphic celebrating 1 million organ transplants, with Gift of Life Michigan and United Network for Organ Sharing logos
Blog, News | September 9, 2022

U.S. reaches historic milestone of 1 million organ transplants

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…

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Artelia Griggs and Donnie Parker wave as they finish the 5K walk
Blog, LifeLines, News | July 27, 2022

LIFE Walk returns to historic Belle Isle for 25th year

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.
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