APRIL 12, 2004

Grand Rapids
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To kick off April as Michigan Donate Life Month, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land celebrated another important milestone - 700,000 names on the state's donor registry - and urged residents to help grow the registry to 1 million names.

"This is a great chance to be ‘one-in-a-million' on our registry of potential donors," Land said. "Everyone who enrolls increases the odds that a seriously ill person can benefit from transplant surgery and get a second chance at life."

Land made her comments today while observing the Department of State's annual "Buddy Day" during news conferences at Spectrum Health's Butterworth Campus in Grand Rapids and at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. To promote the importance of organ donation, Land joined with organ donor officials, physicians, transplant recipients and their families to share compelling stories about the benefits of organ donation.

Gift of Life and Michigan Eye-Bank volunteers, known as "buddies" visited more than 100 branch offices to meet with people and discuss organ donation. For more than a decade, the Secretary of State's Office has partnered with the Gift of Life to advocate greater donor awareness through Buddy Day.

The "buddies" are organ donor recipients, family members of donors, or supporters of organ and tissue donation. They share their experiences with the public and help sign people up on Michigan's donor registry.

Land thanked Michigan residents for their strong participation in the organ donor enrollment program and for expanding the registry by more than 700,000 in just six years.

"The challenge is to continue building on what has been accomplished," Land said. "There's still a critical shortage in the number of available organs, and more than 2,400 seriously ill people in Michigan waiting for transplant surgery. We still have plenty of work to do."

Land urged residents to visit the department's Web site, www.Michigan.gov/sos to find easy ways to enroll.

Tom Beyersdorf, Gift of Life executive director, was on hand and accepted from Secretary Land an executive declaration marking April as Michigan Donate Life Month.

"We are pleased to celebrate with Secretary Land another incredible milestone in the growth of the donor registry," Beyersdorf said. "With the support of the Michigan Department of State, the Gift of Life Donor Registry has consistently increased, and the goal of a million potential donors is definitely within reach."

Besides online enrollment opportunities, donor enrollment cards are available at any Secretary of State branch office and are mailed with every driver's license and state identification card.

In 2003, the Gift of Life reported 211 Michigan organ donors, who saved or enhanced the lives of 514 people. The Gift of Life also reported 689 tissue donors for the year. Tissues include heart valves, veins, skin, corneas and tendons. Furthermore, the Michigan Eye-Bank was able to provide nearly 1,600 corneas for transplant.

The Gift of Life is Michigan's only certified, full-service organ recovery organization. It acts as an intermediary to provide educational resources about organ donation for donors, recipients, physicians and hospital staff.

For more information about organ donation, contact the Gift of Life at 1-800-482-4881.