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Leslie Palacios is a double cornea transplant recipient who shares her story in Hispanic communities
Featured | August 16, 2024

Volunteer Spotlight: With her vision restored, Leslie Palacios helps others see the need to be donors

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…

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| March 2, 2015

Wayne State University and Siena Heights University are tops in statewide organ donor drive competition at college campuses

ANN ARBOR — Showing that college rivalries can be used for social good, students across the state participated in the 12th annual Gift of Life Campus Challenge, encouraging classmates, alumni, faculty and others to join…

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| February 12, 2015

Contest on college campuses statewide aims to add 2,000 names to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry

Ann Arbor – Putting school rivalries and competitive spirit to a new purpose, college students across the state are encouraging their peers, professors and local community members to sign up on the Michigan Organ Donor…

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| January 26, 2015

Gift of Life reaches agreement with Saginaw County’s new medical examiner

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Gift of Life Michigan and the Saginaw County medical examiner have signed an agreement that will allow for both criminal investigations and organ, tissue and cornea donations to occur. The deal…

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| January 20, 2015

Michigan reaches historic milestone: More than half of adults are registered donors

LANSING – Secretary of State Ruth Johnson today announced that the number of Michigan adults registered as organ, tissue and eye donors has now surpassed 50 percent and she credited her staff with helping to…

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| November 17, 2014

Gift of Life earns Crain’s Detroit “Cool Places to Work” distinction

Crain’s Detroit Business recognizes organization’s employee engagement, philosophy ANN ARBOR — Gift of Life Michigan has been named one of the state’s “Cool Places to Work” by Crain’s Detroit Business and Best Companies Group. The…

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| August 25, 2014

Gift of Life Michigan breaks ground on major expansion of state’s Ann Arbor headquarters

Surgical suites, learning center and donor memorial to be completed in Sept. 2015 ANN ARBOR – Gift of Life Michigan, the state’s organ and tissue recovery program, today broke ground on a $12.3 million, three-story…

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| August 19, 2014

Gift of Life is first organ procurement organization with ground-breaking lung technology

ANN ARBOR, MI – Gift of Life Michigan, the state’s only organ and tissue donor program, has approval to begin using an extraordinary technology that will boost both the number and quality of lungs available…

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| July 25, 2014

Gift of Life MOTTEP Walk/Run raises awareness about the importance of minority organ donations

DETROIT – More than 1,000 supporters of efforts to expand minority patients’ access to tissue and organ transplant operations will participate in the 17th annual Gift of Life Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP)…

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| June 23, 2014

Gift of Life looks forward to working with new Saginaw County medical examiner to assist investigations and save lives

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Gift of Life Michigan is withdrawing a legal action against the former Saginaw County medical examiner, now that a new chief medical examiner has been appointed. Gift of Life had asked…

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| June 9, 2014

Gift of Life Michigan sponsors driver Joey Gase in NASCAR Nationwide race to promote organ and tissue donation

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Gift of Life Michigan will serve as the primary sponsor for NASCAR Nationwide driver Joey Gase’s No. 52 Chevy Camaro at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, June 14. Gase’s mother, Mary…

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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

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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