Blog

  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.

Gift of Life wants to partner with workplaces, community organizations, and municipal clerks to promote donation, break down myths and misconceptions and ask employees or constituents to “Check Your Heart” to make sure they’re registered as organ, eye and tissue donors and, if not, to sign up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry.  

Justin Shilling’s legacy as an organ and tissue donor is helping his mother navigate the depths of her grief. She wanted something for his 1,900 classmates, too. The Oxford High School senior was one of…

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…

After more than three decades in leadership at Gift of Life Michigan, the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) has recognized Anne Kowalczyk with its Lifetime Achievement award. Gift of Life’s recently retired CFO was…

Todd Hart saves lives by taking care of organs from the second they leave the donor until the moment they reach the recipient prepped for a lifesaving transplant. As an Organ Recovery Specialist at Gift…

Ronda Harrison never thought she’d live to see 50.   Born with cystic fibrosis (CF), the Spring Lake woman said she always knew her life had an early expiration date.   “I have always known I…

With more than 106,000 Americans currently waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, there’s no question that we need organ donors more than ever. Every day, 17 people die waiting for an organ transplant. What if…

Did you know that more than 106,000 Americans are currently on the organ transplant waiting list? For everyone who decides to become an organ donor, up to 75 individual lives can be dramatically improved– think…

Each day, people enter hospitals in dire need of organ transplants. These people need more than medication or surgery to recover from their conditions – they require organ transplants to survive. With the demand for…

Muslim donor mom encourages conversation about organ and tissue donation: “We need to talk about it,” Nameer said. “You’re doing the most honorable thing in the world. You’re giving life to someone.”

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.  

Jade Townsend spent a brief time on Earth and made a big difference Baby Jade came into the world with all odds against her and left with a legacy that now defines her. She lived…

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 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.

Already recognized as a Great Place to Work, Gift of Life Michigan is taking steps to become even better.   The organization’s Better Together work group, which focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion, conducted a survey recently in which nearly half of Gift of Life’s staff submitted feedback about what they wanted to learn from the group.   

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. 

One of the easiest ways to help the Gift of Life Foundation is with a Facebook Fundraiser for your birthday, or in honor or memory of a friend or family member.   It’s simple to set…

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…

Autumn Harris guides families in crisis as their loved ones save and transform lives. The young wife of a dying man asks his nurse about organ donation and Autumn Harris is right there with answers…

Volunteer honored posthumously for work with Gift of Life Michigan Kenton Kurth never met a stranger. “He never met anyone he didn’t like, and I don’t think anyone didn’t like him,” said Sarah Kurth, his…

Goodrich woman donated kidney to long-time family friend Goodrich, MI – With an act of incredible generosity and kindness, Lynette Bailey gave a long-time family friend the most precious gift of all: time. Lynette, now…

Gift of Life Michigan welcomes Hartley T. Heart. Hartley is Gift of Life Michigan’s newest employee, providing a light-hearted (pun intended) opportunity to engage people in a life-saving message. Hartley was designed as a fun…

March is National Kidney Month Armond Baskin knew he had high blood pressure, but he didn’t know how serious it was. Diagnosed more than 20 years ago, the Flint man, now 40, thought he was…

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.

Gift of Life Michigan was thrilled to receive three Pinnacle Awards from Donate Life America in 2021 for some of the best community outreach programs in the nation.

“All I want to do is volunteer and help out,” advocate says.   Scott Campbell never let his condition slow him down – even after his second heart transplant. Born with self-corrected transposition of the…

Nilam Patel and her colleagues in Gift of Life Michigan’s Laboratory are medical matchmakers in the intricate organ donation process that transpires over a series of days and ends with lives saved. 

Anyone who knew Cody Baron would expect to see his picture beside the words ‘selfless’ and ‘generous’ in the dictionary.   “He lived each of his days with joy, laughter, and vigor,” said his mother, Wendy…

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!

Gift of Life Michigan provides inspiring, educational presentations about organ and tissue donation to high school students across the state through the award-winning program, All of Us.

Liver recipient turns miracle into advocacy After a liver transplant saved his life, Tim Davidson felt a responsibility to give back to the community and help others in his situation. “You have to live a…

Erin Krause submitted this thoughtful remembrance on Facebook over the holidays; we’re sharing it here with her permission in hopes it brings comfort to donor families and hope to those who are awaiting a second…

‘All I want to do is volunteer and help out,’ advocate says   Scott Campbell never let his condition slow him down – even after his second heart transplant. Born with self-corrected transposition of the…

Chad Milton knows the spirit of his late wife lives on – he’s even heard proof. A traffic accident claimed Mary Milton in 2016, shortly after the 43-year-old left their home to go to the…

When Michael Collier says he’s in better shape now than he was more than 20 years ago, it’s easy to believe him. Nearly 11 years ago, a heart transplant saved his life and gave him…

‘It has to stop because too many people are losing their lives,’ says donor mom Terra DeFoe encouraged her son, Emilio, to sign up as an organ donor when he turned 18. Little did she…

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…