Frequently asked questions

• How do I sign up to become an organ, tissue and eye donor?

  Signing up to be a donor is easy. You may enroll using the Online Michigan Organ Donor Registry. You may also sign up when you renew or request a replacement license or state ID card through Online Services or when you obtain a replacement or renew your driver's license or ID card at a Secretary of State office. Michigan law supports your right to make your own donation decision - no further authorization is required once you enroll on the registry. However, it is still important to talk to your family about your desire to be an organ, tissue and eye donor, so it is aware of your intention and to avoid any delays or confusion.

  At the time of death, if medically suitable, your family may be approached to discuss the opportunity to donate your organs, tissues and eyes. If you have already made that decision and joined the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, your family will be informed of your decision. If you are not already registered, your family will be asked to consider donating. A medical professional from Gift of Life Michigan or Eversight will explain the donation process and answer questions/

• Am I too old to be an organ, tissue and eye donor?

  There is no age limit for donation. Anyone can be considered a potential organ and tissue donor. The best thing to do is add your name to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry and share your decision with your family.

• What happens if I change my mind after I register on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry?

  The option to cancel your registration is always available. You may cancel your registration by going to online services or at any Secretary of State office by presenting your driver's license or ID card. You can also cancel on the Gift of Life Michigan website or the Donate Life America website.

• How does the donation process work?

  One person can donate up to eight life-saving organs, plus tissues that can improve the lives of up to 75 people. Organs that can be donated include: the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, intestines and pancreas. Tissues include: eye tissues and corneas, bone, tendons, skin, heart valves, veins and nerves.
  
  Organs, tissues and eyes are recovered through dignified surgical procedures conducted with the highest level of care and respect for the donor. For more information, watch these brief videos on eye donation and organ donation.

• Who is Eversight?

  Eversight is a nonprofit eye bank network based in Ann Arbor, Mich. with a mission to restore sight and prevent blindness through the healing power of eye donation, corneal transportation and vision research.
  
  Eversight is responsible for recovering, evaluating and providing donor eye tissue for transplantation; supporting research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions; promoting donation awareness through public and professional education; and providing humanitarian aid to people around the world in need of corneal transplantation.
  
  One billion people are coping with preventable vision loss globally, including 12 million who suffer from corneal blindness - the fourth leading cause of blindness worldwide. Eversight is working to address this global burden and help make vision a reality for more people worldwide.

  As a global leader in the field of eye banking, Eversight enables donors and their families to give the gift of sight and takes great pride in being responsible stewards of donors' precious gifts.

  Operating in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and South Korea, Eversight works in collaboration with surgeons, researchers, academic medical centers and eye banks across the United States and abroad. For more information, visit eversightvision.org and watch this video.

• Who is Gift of Life Michigan?

  Gift of Life Michigan is the state’s federally designated, not-for-profit organ recovery organization. Formed in 1971 by five kidney transplant surgeons, Gift of Life offers all services necessary for organ and tissue donation.

  Gift of Life recovers more than 1,000 organs every year for transplantation from more than 500 donors, saving many hundreds of lives. Bone, skin and other tissues are also recovered, helping to heal the lives of thousands of seriously injured and sick recipients. Gift of Life also works closely with Eversight to manage cornea and eye donation in Michigan.

  Gift of Life Michigan has a state-of-the-art Donor Care Center at its Ann Arbor headquarters, which includes a three-bed ICU and four operating rooms. Nearly 60% of the state’s brain-dead donation surgeries and almost all of the tissue donations happen at Gift of Life.

  In addition, Gift of Life maintains and grows the Michigan Organ Donor Registry in partnership with the Michigan Secretary of State. Gift of Life partners with every hospital in the state, including the eight transplant centers.

  Gift of Life partners with Eversight and the Michigan Donor Family Council to honor organ, eye and tissue donors as well as donors in spirit at the annual Michigan Donor Family Gathering. It also facilitates anonymous communication between donor families and those who received their loved ones’ gifts of organs and tissues. 

• How can I help?

  Please consider signing up on the Donor Registry today. If you join when you renew or when you get your first driver's license or state ID card, you'll have a heart symbol printed on your new driver's license or state ID card. If you join before your license expires, you'll receive a heart symbol sticker to be placed on your license or ID card. When your license or ID card expires, you'll be sent a new one with the heart symbol printed on it after you renew. If you lose your heart symbol sticker, you can easily order a new one.