Four Michigan pickleball players are hoping to set a new world record and raise both awareness and money all in one swing. West Michigan residents Brad Haverkamp, Julie Ondersma, Sydney Sonday and Caleb Dang will try to break the Guinness World Record for longest marathon by breaking the record of 34 hours, five minutes and […]
Grand Rapids pickleballers take on Guinness World Record for a worthy cause Read More »
Hailey Brouillet was 20 years old and in her junior year at Oakland University when she was hit by a reckless driver in October 2013. She had just come home from studying abroad, something her mother Lori didn’t even know she was interested in. “She was a quiet girl and when she wanted to study
Sharing her spirit Read More »
Each year, as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Gift of Life Michigan recognizes Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Day. The goal of BRA Day is to increase awareness regarding the range of choices available to women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. A significant percentage of breast reconstructions after mastectomy would not be possible
Celebrating BRA Day and the gift of tissue donation Read More »
When Blake Hermann was seven months old, his mother, Molly, noticed that he wasn’t progressing like his twin sister Anna. He had yet to roll over and his coloring seemed a bit yellow. She decided to make a doctor’s appointment. Following many tests and a visit at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, they finally learned that
Two-year-old Blake receives life-changing liver transplant Read More »
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 the world to ever successfully receive one from a deceased human donor. Gift of Life Michigan began collaborating with Ossium
Michigan organ donor contributes to historic bone marrow transplant Read More »
Gift of Life Michigan is proud to announce that its own Senior Performance Improvement Specialist, Sheila Alston, received the Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation (AMAT) Nurse of the Year DAISY Award. Alston was honored during AMAT’s annual meeting that took place Sept.10-13 in San Diego, Calif. This marked the first time the organization has
From the outside, 18-year-old Alex Chandler seems like a typical teenager with a love for video games and spending time with his friends. On the inside, he’s got something pretty special. Alex received a liver transplant at just 8 months old, which has allowed him to grow up and hit a magic milestone in June
From 8 months to 18 years old: Young man with donated liver reaches another milestone Read More »
When Finnley Lutz saw her fellow high school students roll up with two wheelbarrows filled with pennies, she knew they were about to make a difference. Students at the Dickinson-Iron Intermediate School District in Kingsford (200 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge) raised more than $1,500 for Gift of Life Michigan this year in a
Motivated U.P. students turn pennies into $1,500 for Gift of Life Michigan Read More »
Gift of Life collaborates with bioengineering leader for bone marrow transplantation An innovative bioengineering company in Indianapolis is pioneering a novel approach to bone marrow transplants to treat blood cancers and other life-threatening blood disorders. Patients needing bone marrow transplants rely on living stem cell donors, but finding suitable matches can be challenging for patients
Ossium Health enables organ donors to save even more lives Read More »
A terrified Terra DeFoe waited and watched as physicians and nurses at University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor frantically worked to save her young son, Emilio. He was a registered organ donor — a detail none of the doctors or nurses knew as they treated him before performing a 10-hour heart surgery to attempt
Myth debunked by fact: Doctors work to save your life if you’re a registered organ donor Read More »
Just 21% of new drivers in Michigan are registering as organ donors, and we’re concerned about that low number. Other states have double that percentage. We don’t think Michigan teens are less generous, they just don’t receive any information or education about donation to help them decide. So, most are going in cold when they
New bill would educate more ninth graders about organ and tissue donation Read More »
High school students fresh out of a wide-eyed hour of Gift of Life’s All of Us education experience about organ and tissue donation were still standing around Cristal Rivas and her table of human organs for several minutes after class ended. By the time they slowly drifted out to their next class, the teens excitedly
Michigan’s only source for teen education about donation is saving lives Read More »
Name: Chef Oliver Hale (Chef O) Age: 71 Home: Kentwood, Michigan Transplant: Kidney, twice Why did you need a transplant, and when did it happen? I received my first kidney transplant in 1985 after high blood pressure damaged my kidneys. That transplanted kidney failed in 2007, and I went on dialysis until I received
Transplant Throwback: Chef Oliver Hale Organ Donation Journey Read More »
Dain Mendoza says he’s fortunate to work for an organization that’s part of his own mother’s story. As a materials supply technician at Gift of Life Michigan, Dain receives, processes and stocks supplies and equipment needed to recover organs and tissue from the state’s donor heroes. He takes his role in saving and healing lives
Staff Spotlight: Dain Mendoza lives the mission that saved his mother’s life Read More »
Before Leslie Palacios received two new corneas, her life was a blur. The Grand Rapids mom of two struggled to read, to cook, to see her son play football and her triathlete husband cross the finish line. Glasses were no help. Leslie had a hereditary condition called granular dystrophy, and her eyesight was like looking
