Know Your Org: Gift of Life

"Know Your Org" is an informational series designed to spotlight some of the wonderful organizations in our community. This month, we are highlighting Gift of Life.

Founded in 1971 by a group of physicians and community leaders, Gift of Life Michigan is a non-profit organization that works with organ, eye and tissue donations to improve access to lifesaving transplants. Their mission is to honor life through donations.

Gift of Life works with hospitals, donor families and transplant centers to ensure that every person who chooses to give the gift of life can save and heal as many people as possible. Gift of Life is Michigan’s federally designated organ procurement organization.

Interesting Facts

One donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and 75 or more through tissue and cornea donation.
Roughly 2,600 Michigan patients are waiting for a lifesaving transplant.
Gift of Life made history in transplantation in 2024. Through its partnership with Ossium Health, a clinical-stage bioengineering company in San Francisco, a Michigan organ donor saved the life of a 68-year-old Flint woman. She needed an urgent bone marrow transplant to treat her leukemia. She was the first patient in the world to receive a successful transplant of marrow from a deceased donor.
More than 4.6 million Michigan residents are registered organ donors, which is among the highest per capita rates in the country.
In 2024, Gift of Life Michigan helped 533 people become organ donors, which led to 1,119 organs being transplanted.
In 2024, 1,960 people gave the gift of tissue, breaking the record set in 2023 of 1,858.
Michigan was the first state in the country to add the Donor Registry question to tax forms, thanks to the Check Your Heart Act, which was passed into law in 2023.

Information for Potential Donors

To become a donor and help save lives, you can join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry by visiting the Secretary of State branch or website—or simply by going to golm.org/signup. For more information about the donation process, visit this page or their donation FAQs page.

In Michigan, your decision to someday help others through donation is protected by the Uniform Anatomical Gift Law, a state law that has been in place since 2008. Commonly known as first-person authorization, it means that your decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor should be respected and cannot be changed by anyone.

The only time a family can change that decision is if someone is under the age of 18 when they pass. Anyone can sign up for the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, regardless of age or medical history.

Ways to Get Involved as a Non-Donor

Become a volunteer. To do so, visit their volunteer page.
Share your donation decision with family and friends.
Invite Gift of Life Michigan into your classroom or community program. Help us educate others on the impact of organ, eye and tissue donation.
Donate to help their mission. Donations go towards providing comfort items to donor families, educational programs and financial assistance to recipients. You can donate here.

Keep up with Gift of Life

April is one of their busiest times of the year as it is National Donate Life Month. The best way to stay up-to-date with Gift of Life’s events is to visit their website or follow them on social media at @GiftofLifeMichigan on Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn and @giftoflifemich on Instagram and X.