Blog

Education, advocacy of organ donation brings Champion Award to Campus Challenge winners Detroit, MI – For the past nine years, students at Wayne State University have won the annual Gift of Life Michigan Campus Challenge…

‘For me, it’s being able to offer hope,’ says SWAT team leader Kathi St. Pierre does everything in her power to make sure organ and tissue donors are treated with the respect and honor they…

Shepherd woman took organ, tissue donation message across Michigan Kelly Davis is not able to promote organ and tissue donation around the State of Michigan as much as she used to, but she still believes…

Kalamazoo, MI – Dr. Robert Beck has helped save and improve the lives of thousands of people he’ll never meet. Beck, 64, of Kalamazoo, is one of 15 individuals and three hospitals statewide to be…

Event to address health disparities, provide resources to sustain a healthier workforce Businesses can have a significant impact on the health and wellness of their employees and the communities they serve. That’s why Gift of…

‘Always believe in yourself,’ Saginaw resident says Saginaw, MI – Joey Hunt has some advice for anyone waiting for a new organ: don’t lose faith. “You have to believe in yourself and put yourself first…

Gift of Life, MOTTEP, Michigan Medicine team up on virtual event Ann Arbor, MI – Top medical and organ transplant professionals will get together this week to discuss healthcare disparities in minority populations and the…

Hispanic Heritage Month offers an opportunity to celebrate the culture and contributions of Hispanic and Latinx people and to highlight issues they face today. It runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 every year, recognizing…

Multicultural outreach projects earn top honors from Donate Life America Ann Arbor, MI – Gift of Life Michigan, the state’s federally designated organ procurement organization, has been nationally recognized for two initiatives designed to increase…

Grand Rapids, MI – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gift of Life Michigan could not host its annual Donate Life Day at the Zoo at the John Ball Zoo. Instead, Gift of Life is bringing…

Double-lung recipient celebrates life, helps others on the transplant journey When Michael Love started to experience shortness of breath, the Southfield resident said he thought it’d be easy to treat. He was 50 years old…

‘I want to let everyone who struggles from all chronic diseases or illnesses know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel’ Mustafa Sharafi always wanted to be a father. Granted that…

Liver recipient, donor family celebrate 10 years of new life, advocacy Mike Lopez has always relied on his faith to get through difficult times. His faith helped him 11 years ago, when a routine visit…

‘I’m just so grateful for my life, and what I’ve been able to do’ St. Johns, MI – It’s Friday afternoon outside the Clinton County Senior Center near downtown St. Johns, and Karen Livermore is…

New facility allows for increased bone, tissue donors in northern Michigan Marquette, MI – A new facility in Marquette will help Gift of Life Michigan bring hope and healing to more Michigan residents. The facility…

Beats x Beers founder, Gift of Life team up on Virtual Trivia Night Are you up on your pop culture knowledge, sports facts and local history? An upcoming virtual trivia night challenge may be just…

Patients waiting for new organs take extra precautions to stay healthy De’Shante Ervin is taking additional precautions these days. The 40-year-old Southfield resident is currently in need of a kidney and knows that even a…

Grand Rapids man meets late wife’s donated heart recipient Chad Milton knew the spirit of his late wife lived on. Earlier this year, he heard proof. Milton, 45, a truck driver from Grand Rapids, met…

Ann Arbor, MI – More than half the men, women and children waiting for a life-saving organ transplant are people of color, yet people in multi-cultural communities sometimes are more reluctant to sign up as…

Week-long event promotes organ, tissue donation, and healthy lifestyles Detroit, MI – The annual LIFE Walk/Run will return this year, with a twist. Given current social distancing concerns, participants will be able to lace up…

Multicultural outreach to feature video testimonies, virtual roundtables and events Armed with new information and committed to saving and improving lives, Gift of Life Michigan will take its Let’s Talk multicultural outreach into the virtual…

Decision to donate kidney a ‘no-brainer’ for Auburn Hills resident As father, son and even fraternity brothers, Bobby and Branden Robinson always shared a strong bond. Ten years ago, that bond became even stronger when…

A Roseville family is hoping to turn their tragedy into hope for others. Christopher Stoi said he was not ready to let go of his son, Austin, who died of suicide recently. Through Gift of…

Davison, MI – It’s not uncommon for a daughter to share a special bond with her father, but for Maddie and Tom Goyette, that bond is more than a typical family tie. Maddie, who will…

Mustafa Sharafi always wanted to be a father. Granted that wish more than two years ago, the 35-year-old Sterling Heights resident is just as grateful to celebrate this Father’s Day as he was last year,…

Canton, MI — Marcileen Pruitt of Canton will enjoy this Mother’s Day and plenty more to come, thanks to some help from her extended family. Pruitt, 48, is living with renewed vigor after receiving a…

Grand Blanc, MI – Organ transplant recipients are accustomed to taking extra precautions to protect their health. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, they need to even more cautious. “We’ve got to be extra,…

Hastings, MI – Pam and Doug Reed, of Hastings, MI, supported the idea of organ and tissue donation long before tragedy struck their family last year. An acquaintance of Doug’s was on the waiting list…

Ann Arbor, MI – Just when Rilynn Payne was scheduled to receive a life-altering organ transplant, fate delivered another twist. Payne, a 3-year-old from southwest Michigan, had overcome numerous obstacles last year and was on…

Ann Arbor, MI – The skies may be cloudy and the trees still bare, but there will be a lot of blue and green visible on Friday, April 17, anyway. That’s because April 17 is…

Muskegon, MI – In Andrea Powers’ home, Star Wars characters have joined groups of knitted owls, bees and elephants. Combined with a growing pile of blankets and quilts, they will be donated to Gift of…

National Donate Life Month will be celebrated differently this year, but the message is the same: There’s a critical need for more organ, tissue and eye donors in Michigan and throughout the United States. In…

Rekenna Stanford was a registered organ donor long before she needed a new kidney. “I never had any misgivings about it,” she said. “If someone could use them after I was gone, have at it….

In many ways, Deacon Lawrence J. Bailey considers his donated kidney a blessing. Bailey, 65, a Canton resident, received a donated kidney in 2013 and has since dedicated himself to spreading that blessing by educating…

When it comes to signing up Michigan residents to the Organ Donor Registry, more and more colleges are taking up the challenge. Twenty-one college and university campuses across the state took part in the annual…