News

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.

The fourth annual Champions Gala kicked off National Donate Life Month, with special tributes to the best of the best in Michigan’s donation and transplant community. Gift of Life Michigan honored 17 individuals, four partner organizations, and one hospital with 2022 Donation Champion awards, recognizing their extraordinary efforts to help fulfill the wishes of organ and tissue donors and their families. 

Gift of Life Foundation launches first annual appeal  As Gift of Life Michigan battles the ever-present transplant waiting list and strives to add one million names to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, resources for critical…

One million new registered donors sought within three years

Gift of Life Michigan is now using a TransMedics Organ Care System (OCS) that will prolong the life of donated lungs – and even help recondition them – increasing the probability of a successful donor match and improving long-term health for recipients. Clinical trials are also under way for similar technology that would be used for donated livers, hearts, and kidneys.

Lansing woman advocates for organ, tissue donation on National Donor Day

Marcia Toda recently heard her daughter’s heart beating, still strong, in the chest of 31-year-old Lauren Herrera. The two women met recently at the Gift of Life Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.

Being certified as a Great Place to Work is always an honor, but we feel especially honored after navigating the challenges presented in 2021. The Great Places to Work distinction shows that we’ve been able to provide our employees with an environment that supports them and their commitment to our mission. We’re so proud of that!

Organ and tissue donation trending up across the U.S.   Gift of Life Michigan again honored the generosity of a record number of organ donors in 2021, saving and healing thousands of lives despite the continuing…

Legislation enables organ transplants from HIV-positive donors to HIV-positive patients   Ann Arbor, MI – The HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act is now law in Michigan. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the legislation in December,…

Gift of Life Michigan has been certified as a Great Place to Work, based on employee feedback from a survey in November. Based on the survey, 74 percent of employees indicated Gift of Life is…

Future Health Professionals rally to increase number of Michigan organ and tissue donors   There are nearly 1,000 new organ and tissue donors registered in Michigan, thanks to the efforts of students across the state….

Gift of Life Michigan is once again looking to honor our partners throughout the state at our annual Champions Gala on Friday, April 1, 2022. We would not be as successful as we are without…

Technology, education, and outreach led to record-breaking growth In a year that has already seen three record-breaking months, Gift of Life Michigan is approaching another milestone: honoring the wishes of 10,000 organ donors during the…

More than 300 comfort blankets created during third annual event Dozens of volunteers, organ transplant recipients and members of donor families got together recently to create some warmth for newly grieving families. The Donate Life…

May 31 will be recognized as Amaia Alysse Edmond Day after unanimous council vote   The legacy of a young girl from the Lansing community who donated her organs will live on, after the Lansing…

Bill enabling organ transplants from HIV-positive donors to HIV-positive patients referred out of committee, headed for vote

Grand Rapids facility, staff recognized for innovation, support of organ and tissue donation Spectrum Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids was honored as the 2021 Donor Hospital of the Year by Gift of Life Michigan for…