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Featured | March 25, 2025

Honoring life through art

Through art, community, and the spirit of giving, Palee Haney from Kalamazoo has found a way to honor her sister, Chadapron Haney—affectionately known as “Guy.” “Guy was a force,” Palee said. “She was incredibly generous,…

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| April 30, 2014

Angels for Life campaign urges minorities in southeast Michigan to save and heal lives through organ donation

Detroit, MI — Even if you haven’t attended a house of worship lately or aren’t connected with a faith community at all, four Detroit clergymen — Bishop Phillip A. Brooks, Rev. Ronald Copeland, Rev. Patrick…

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| April 28, 2014

Gift of Life works to uphold the law in Saginaw County so lives can be saved

Gift of Life Michigan has sued Saginaw County and its medical examiner after authorities there prevented the donation of life-saving organs instead of cooperating with Gift of Life, as required by law. The suit asks…

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| April 2, 2014

Secretary of State, advocates kick off Donate Life Month at Wayne State University

DETROIT – Secretary of State Ruth Johnson and organ donation leaders kicked off Donate Life Month at Wayne State University today with music, awards and an energetic call for community members to sign up on…

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| March 25, 2014

It’s official: Donate Life Coalition of Michigan set Guinness World Record for largest gathering of heart transplant recipients

The Donate Life Coalition of Michigan, its members and Art Moran Buick GMC are proud to announce that our attempt has officially been accepted and was set on February 14, when 132 heart transplant recipients…

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| February 28, 2014

Wayne State University and Siena Heights University win coveted trophies in statewide organ donor drive competition.

ANN ARBOR — Using college rivalries for social good, students across the state participated in the 11th annual Gift of Life Campus Challenge, encouraging classmates, alumni, faculty and others to join the Michigan Organ Donor…

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| February 27, 2014

World record 132 heart recipients gather to celebrate new life on Valentine’s Day

A world record 132 heart recipients crowded into an auto dealership on Valentine’s Day in Southfield, creating a media stir and heartfelt appreciation for organ donors and their families. The first-time event was held at…

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| January 23, 2014

Hundreds to gather for celebration of organ, eye and tissue donation at state Capitol

LANSING, Mich. – People from across the state are expected to converge at the Capitol on Wednesday, Sept. 18, to celebrate the miracle of organ, eye and tissue transplantation. It will also be a day…

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| January 21, 2014

11th annual Gift of Life Campus Challenge aims to sign up 3,000 new organ donors

Ann Arbor, MI—Using college rivalries and a competitive spirit for social good, college students across the state are encouraging their peers, professors and local community members to sign up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry….

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| January 21, 2014

Gift of Life achieves new marks while saving and improving lives in 2013

Ann Arbor, Mich. – In 2013, Gift of Life Michigan helped 1,064 people donate organs and tissues for transplant as their final act of generosity. Those donors and their families provided 915 organs for transplant…

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| January 2, 2014

Michigan organ donor honored on float in Tournament of Roses Parade

Ann Arbor, Mich. – A 39-year-old wife and mother of two from Grand Blanc was among 81 organ, tissue or cornea donors from across the nation honored on the Donate Life Rose Parade Float in…

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| November 25, 2013

Gift of Life honors organ donation champions for life-saving work

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Gift of Life recognized five Michigan residents for their outstanding work in promoting organ, eye and tissue donation at the 42nd annual Gift of Life Foundation meeting Thursday. Gift of Life,…

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Stories of Hope | August 8, 2013

Dr. Marwan Abouljoud

“Organ donation and transplantation is the gateway from the dying to the living.” Dr. Marwan Abouljoud isn’t just a surgeon. He’s a transplant surgeon. World renowned for his abilities in liver and split liver transplant,…

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Stories of Hope | August 8, 2013

Harry Lucas

“My daughter delivered four miracles and it doesn’t stop there.” Click here to sign up. Within a matter of minutes, a headache for Wixom native April Lucas turned into unimaginable tragedy. The popular 23-year-old Central…

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Stories of Hope | August 8, 2013

Maggie

Heart recipient “We are very lucky to have her healthy, and we are hell-bent on making sure she understands the gift she was given.” Mother Kelly McLaren One family facing an unimaginable tragedy in early…

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Stories of Hope | August 8, 2013

Cassandra Perry’s Cornea Transplant Story

Cornea recipient Cassandra Perry was 30 and a single mom of two when the news came: She was going blind. Click here to sign up. She had been experiencing a gradual loss of vision that…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Rob & Amber Sagala

My husband and I were so excited to find out around new years of 2010 we were having another baby. We already had a 2yr old boy, but i really wanted a girl now; and…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Katie Arnson

I was born in 1989, and by Christmas time I was diagnosed with Biliary atresia. Bilary atresia is a rare condition in newborn infants in which the common bile duct between the liver and the…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Donald Burnett

I received the gift of life on March 16th, 2009. I had spent almost 5 years on hemo-dialysis and have been afflicted by polycystic kidney disease for sometime. During the wait I had complications and…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Mir Shahid Hossain

One organ, tissue and cornea donor can save or enhance more than 50 lives. Mir Shahid Hossain Bayonne

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Dave Oliver

On Dec. 2, 2009 my husband, Dave, age 49 died of a massive heart attack. After his death, a coordinator from Give of Life contacted me after we left the hospital asking if I would…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Jody Stewart

Last year on Thanksgiving, my younger brother’s life was taken by severe complications of diabetes. Before taking him off the vent, we were told he had no brain function at all. He was 45. My…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Tim Burton

My brother Tim died on July 5, 2009. He had autism and in spite of the barriers in his life he managed to live in his own apartment, work and make friends. When he died,…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Amy Odglen

My husband is 32 years old. He was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease two months after his mother passed away from the illness in April 2008. At the time we were told that the disease…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Michael Nachman

“Dad, do you know what I want?” I walked into my older son’s bedroom the other night. It was just one of those routine checks that a parent will do over and over again –…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Pat Golden

Mother, Nana, loving wife, dear friend, Caring, loving, giving are just a few words that describe my Mom, Pat Golden. She was the most giving person I have ever known even right up to her…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Nicole Carlton

I am a different story: I didn’t receive a organ donation but I did receive a tissue donation. And with out it I would be able to do the thing’s I do today. The number…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Gregory Harrison

Hi! My name is Gregory Harrison and I’m so glad to have volunteered in the Transplant Tuesday donor sign up event sponsored by the Gift of Life on July 6 at the Secretary of State…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Rachel Postma

Rachel was diagnosed with a cardiomyopathy at 6 weeks of age while we lived in Virginia. She was later seen at the University of Michigan Hospital where she was treated with a maintenance prescription heart…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Melissa Tuff

I was diagnosed at age 16 with Rapidly Progressive Glomerulonephritis and immediately thrown onto dialysis. I had no idea what to expect or what was happening. All that I was sure of was that I…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Lynn

5/13/2010, I just wanted to post that today my mother has had her lung transplant from the University of Michigan for 18 years. She also had a kidney transplant 5 years ago, donated by my…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Dixon Hamilton

My son Dixon was 17 when he went off the back of an ATV and suffered severe head injuries. He was pronounced brain dead on June 20th 2009 at Aspirus Hospital in Wausau, WI. He…

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Stories of Hope | May 22, 2013

Holly Werlein

My Second Chance June 14, 2006 probably seemed like a normal day for the average person. For me, however, it was the day I was given a 2nd chance at life. It was on that…

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Stories of Hope | May 17, 2013

Herman “Butch” Borgerding

PLEASE, I am a long time survivor of polytheistic renal failure. I lost my mother in 1969, my sister in 1995 and my nephew received a kidney from a sister. As for me… my father…

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Stories of Hope | May 17, 2013

Dee Story

My name is Royce Story and I would like to tell you a little story about my family’s experience with organ and tissue donation and why we feel so strongly about it. On June 24th…

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Stories of Hope | May 17, 2013

Bobby

On April 13, 2009, my mother’s fiance of 7 years was taken off life support. Because they all knew how he was such a giving man they decided he would want to donate his organs…

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Stories of Hope | May 17, 2013

Bob Sharon

My husband Bob was only 37 when I noticed that he was tired all the time, it was all he could do to go to work. He went in heart failure very fast. When we…

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Stories of Hope | May 17, 2013

Ryan Clark

Ryan was the most upbeat, fun loving, active, intelligent, young man I ever knew. He knew exactly what he wanted out of life and was determined to make all of his dreams come true. At…

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Stories of Hope | May 17, 2013

Alexis Johnson

On April 8, 2009 at 7:45 am my daughter Alexis was at school there were some kids playing with balls and a 15 year old threw a basketball at her it hit her in the…

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Stories of Hope | May 17, 2013

Braedon Bishop

BRAEDON’S STORY (by Eric Bishop) Born 2 weeks after his due date, Braedon was the biggest of our three children. Weighing in at a healthy 9 lbs, 9 oz, he was actually so well-developed that…

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Stories of Hope | May 17, 2013

Mark Otto

As an adult, Mark’s life was saved because someone gave a hero’s gift, the gift of life. Today, Mark honors his liver donor by keeping fit with a daily run. In 1998 Mark went into…

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Stories of Hope | May 17, 2013

Gina G.

A heroic gift from a stranger allowed Gina, a 17 year old cornea recipient, to stay in the game. Playing basketball has always been a dream of Gina’s, but dreams can quickly turn. During a…

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Stories of Hope | May 17, 2013

Doug Clark

Just four months back from their honey moon, Jacquelin Clark couldn’t believe what she heard: Doug, her 29-year old husband, had been tragically killed in a snowmobile accident. “He was taken to Newberry Hospital, which…

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Stories of Hope | May 17, 2013

Chef O. Oliver Hale

There is always something sensational cooking in Chef O.’s kitchen. He fulfills his mother’s wisdom to always do his best and honors his donor by living a full and productive life. It’s been more than…

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Stories of Hope | May 7, 2013

Andrea S.

Andrea has become captivated in the world of photography, recording the special moments in the lives of others. Her passion was inspired by the gifts of a kidney donation from her mother and a pancreas,…

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Stories of Hope | May 7, 2013

Ben Hayes

Ben Hayes was 28 and dying of a rare lung disease. Just when he didn’t think he’d wake to see tomorrow, an Ohio accident victim saved his life. Click here to sign up. A double-lung…

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Stories of Hope | May 7, 2013

Lynn Parker

Lynn Parker found that donating her son’s organs helped her family cope with intense grief. Click here to sign up. At 18, with a new diploma from Troy Athens High School, Tim Parker had his…

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Stories of Hope | May 7, 2013

Sherry Johnson

Sherry Johnson needed a new heart to live. More than three years after her transplant, she’s doing just that, thanks to her hero. Click here to sign up. Sherry Johnson was a 36-year-old Farmington Hills…

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Stories of Hope | May 7, 2013

Sam Allen

Dr. Sam Allen, who lost his good friend to kidney disease, is committed to helping others get the transplants they desperately need. Click here to sign up. As a student in medical school, Sam Allen…

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| February 22, 2013

Students inspire 2,287 Michigan residents to donate life

Wayne State and Siena Heights universities won the 10 annual Gift of Life Campus Challenge. Wayne State won for signing up the most new donors with 854. Siena Heights won for registering the most people…

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| February 11, 2013

Record number of residents joined the Michigan Organ Donor Registry in 2012

More than a half million Michigan residents made the decision to be a hero to someone in need by joining the state’s organ donor registry in 2012. Those sign ups – a record – pushed…

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