APRIL 13, 2006

Transplant recipient honored for her organ donation advocacy

Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land today presented Saginaw resident Mary Catherine Siers with a Shining Star award in recognition of her noteworthy efforts for the cause of organ donation.

Land created the Shining Star award to recognize those whose exceptional efforts encourage greater organ donor awareness. She presented Siers with the award at a ceremony at the Northwest Saginaw Secretary of State branch office.

"Mary Catherine has channeled her gratitude for the gift of life into passionate advocacy to help others," Land said. "She has become an outstanding spokeswoman on the issue of organ donation and is an inspiration to many people."

Siers is a parish nurse for Sacred Heart Church in Saginaw. She was born in Germany and was adopted and raised in the United States. In March 2000, she received a kidney from a living donor whom she had not known previously. The woman met Siers at a church retreat and, after learning of her need for a new kidney, tested positive as a match and offered to give Siers one of her own.

As a volunteer for the Gift of Life organization, Siers has participated in more than 60 public presentations on organ donation during the last four years. She is a leader for other organ donation supporters in the Tri-City area and a founding member of the Mid-Michigan Transplant Support Group. She has won medals at the U.S. Transplant Olympic Games.

Siers was nominated for a Shining Star award by Michigan Department of State staff. Her recognition coincides with Buddy Week, a public awareness campaign in which Gift of Life Michigan and Michigan Eye-Bank volunteers meet with the public at Secretary of State branch offices to discuss organ and tissue donation.

The department has a primary role in collecting names for Michigan's organ, tissue and eye donor registry through its online enrollment program. Donor cards are also available in branch offices and are mailed with driver's licenses and state identification cards. Land also encourages awareness through her Organ and Tissue Donor Advisory Committee and by fostering partnerships with advocates statewide.

Nearly 3,000 individuals are currently on a waiting list for an organ transplant in Michigan, according to Gift of Life. For more information about the Shining Star award and other Department of State organ donor programs, please visit www.Michigan.gov/sos.