Did you ever wonder how to become an organ donor in Michigan?

 

By David McClelland

 

I enjoy watching golfers compete on the PGA tour each week on TV. At the Greenbrier tournament at the end of July, I was amazed to see 30 year-old Erik Compton, who is playing golf with his 3^rd heart. At age 12, due to a rare disease that caused his heart to enlarge, he had to have a heart transplant. At age 26, he had a massive heart attack and had a 2^nd heart transplant. He was fortunate because both donors were young, had been athletes and had strong hearts. There he was, competing on the PGA tour and was in contention for the championship. Truly amazing!!! That story got me wondering about what is involved in becoming and organ donor in Michigan.

 

We often hear appeals to become an organ donor and your Michigan Drivers License may even have a Donor sticker for that purpose. Have you ever looked into the procedure for donating? My research on this subject revealed that you are never too old to be an organ donor, but your physical condition will determine which organs can be donated.

 

It turns out that you can become a donor even while you are alive. Because of the critical need for more transplantable organs, there is a growing number of "living donors." Living donations can include a kidney, part of a lung or a section of a liver.

 

Approximately 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for an organ transplant at any point in time. Michigan's Gift of Life program states that your decision to donate your organs upon your death can save the lives of 8 people and directly improve the lives of up to 50 people through tissue donation.

 

There is also a Michigan Organ Donor Registry that is confidential. It is a 24-hour a day, computerized database that documents your wish to become an organ, tissue and/or eye donor. Your gift will later be used to help others through transplantation, therapy, research and education. You don't have to indicate which organs you want to donate. Because of continuing medical technology advancements, the types of organs and tissues used for transplantation and research almost certainly will continue to evolve.

 

There is no cost to you to be an organ donor and being one will not interfere with having a funeral, including open-casket services. All major religious faiths approve of organ, tissue and eye donations and consider donation an act of charity.

 

To learn more about becoming an organ donor in Michigan, you may:

 

 Call 1-800-482-4881,        or go to:         giftoflifemichigan.org.