Gift of Life Michigan, the state’s organ and tissue recovery organization, is trying to help Michigan’s largest county close the gap between its great need for more organ transplants and the relatively low percentage of its residents signed up to be organ, tissue and eye donors.
The Ann Arbor-based nonprofit and its partners launched a video campaign Thursday featuring five Wayne County residents – all waiting for life-saving organ transplants. The videos include a 10-year-old girl from Inkster who needs a new heart to survive. The spots were filmed at Detroit-area landmarks and will run through November on Comcast in the Wayne County market.
The project, called Waiting to Live – Wayne County, is important: About one-third of the more than 3,000 Michigan residents waiting for organ transplants today are Wayne County residents. Yet just 25 percent (371,000) of the county’s adults are registered organ, tissue and eye donors.
That compares with over 37 percent of adults statewide (2.85 million) and about 43 percent nationally registered as donors.
“We are driven to help every patient waiting in Michigan have the best shot possible for a second chance at life,” said Richard Pietroski, CEO of Gift of Life Michigan. “Our collaboration with Wayne County and the city of Detroit to increase donation awareness and registrations will lend more hope to those who desperately need transplants in Wayne County, the state of Michigan and throughout our nation.”
Wayne County and the city of Detroit have pledged to help motivate residents to recognize the need and sign up. The campaign was unveiled at CHASS, Community Health and Social Services, a nonprofit health center in southwest Detroit.
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson attended the event to pledge her support and ask residents to consider adding their names to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, a confidential database of people who want to give the gift of life.
The first public service spots will air Monday, Oct. 1, on Comcast in Wayne County and will continue through November. Channels featuring the ads include BET, ESPN, TBS and VH1.
Wayne County and the city of Detroit have pledged to host the donor registry link on their websites and to reach out to their thousands of employees to encourage them and their families to join. They and Gift of Life have set a goal of adding 25,000 new Wayne County names to the donor registry by the end of the year.
“Saving a life is what the donor registry is all about, and there isn’t anything more important than that,” said Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano. “We encourage individuals, whether they live in Wayne County or elsewhere, to sign up on the registry and ask their friends and family to do the same.”
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing added: “The need for organ transplants is disproportionately high among ethnic minorities. We recognize the need to promote awareness and education about organ and tissue donation within the city of Detroit.”
“All of this attention to organ donation gives me more hope than ever for a transplant,” said 31-year-old Teresa Harris of Detroit. Harris, who is featured in the video campaign, goes to dialysis three times a week as she waits for a new kidney.
Signing the back of your driver’s license is no longer the way to become a donor in Michigan. Instead, you must join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry to receive a red heart emblem for the front of your license. To do so, go to www.giftoflifemichigan.org, call 800.482.4881 or visit any Secretary of State branch office.
Gift of Life Michigan works with hospitals statewide as the intermediary between donors and their families, physicians and hospital staff.
Contacts:
Wayne County
Edith Killins, Director of Health and Human Services
313.224.0810
ekillins@co.wayne.mi.us
City of Detroit
Loretta Davis, Health Officer/Group Executive for Health and Human Services
313.876.4301
davist@detroitmi.gov
Secretary of State
Gisgie Gendreau, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Ruth Johnson
517.373.2520
gendreaug@michigan.gov
Source: Wayne County Health and Human Services Department