LANSING, MI (WHTC) – Donate Life Month kicks off today, April 6, 2016.
According to the State of Michigan, right now 3,500 people in Michigan alone are waiting for a transplant, many of them needing kidneys. By signing up on the Michigan Organ Registry you can help save lives.
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson was joined by Rick Hillbom, interim CEO for Gift of Life Michigan, the state’s organ and tissue recovery program; Diana Kern, executive director for Eversight Michigan, the state’s cornea and eye tissue recovery program; those waiting for an organ, and family members whose loved ones donated organs to save the lives of strangers.
Today marks Donate Life Day when dozens of volunteers from Gift of Life Michigan, Eversight Michigan and Michigan Lions and Lioness Clubs visit Secretary of State offices across the state to tell their stories. These volunteers have a personal connection to organ donation, either as recipients, family and friends of donors or people currently waiting for an organ.
Anyone can join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry or by visiting any Secretary of State office. Those who sign up receive a heart emblem for their driver’s license that indicates their decision to be an organ donor. A new card with a permanent heart emblem is issued at renewal time.
