LifeLINES | Fall 2023

Fall 2023

A publication of Gift of Life Michigan

Heart recipient saves others through storytelling

Also inside: n Jade saves a life n More records fall n Volunteer Spotlight

FOR SUPPORTERS OF ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION IN MICHIGAN

Welcome back to LifeLINES, Gift of Life Michigan’s premier publication about organ and tissue donation. The last time we delivered this publication to Michigan’s donation community, we delivered it to you in the mail as a printed magazine — our very first. We published 2,000 copies in April that circulated around the state. This digital edition is pretty special. Our friend Rachel Kuntzsch was saved by her heart donor on Thanksgiving Day in 2018, and she’s been saving lives ever since by telling her story each time we ask — and sometimes when we don’t. The wife, mom and successful business owner from Lansing nearly died in a matter of days. Her story and the way she tells it is so inspiring that Rachel has undoubtedly moved people to join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry in the four-plus years she’s been generously giving her time to the mission. We finally captured her story on video this summer and we can’t wait for you to see it here. We’re also proud to report in this edition about the Check Your Heart Act signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in July. The legislation makes Michigan the first in the nation to allow residents to join the Donor Registry on their state income tax forms, starting in 2024. As many as five other states are looking to replicate what Gift of Life has done, and we’re thrilled to share our success nationally. If you would like to join our mailing list, please go to golm.org/mailinglist. I also encourage you to reach out with questions or story ideas to media@golm.org.

Be well,

Betsy Miner-Swartz, Editor and Senior Advisor

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

Table of contents

Popular gala growing in 2024

President and CEO Dorrie Dils

Heart study saves more lives

Baby Jade saves a life

Student education program surges

Check Your Heart Act passes

More organ and tissue records set

Using digital marketing to save lives

STAFF SPOTLIGHT Cindy Zarate

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT Debora Dearring

A summer of saving lives

COVER STORY: Rachel Kuntzsch inspires with her story of hope and life

TRANSPLANT THROWBACK Guadalupe Alejos

LifeLINES editorial team

Patrick Wells-O’Brien VP, communications and external relations

Racha Kardahji director, marketing and communications

Kristine Wise graphic designer

Susan Rink director, advancement

Dorrie Dils President and CEO

Yolanda Holmes administrative coordinator

Jennifer Tislerics digital communications specialist

LifeLINES | 2023 On the cover: ® Photo by Rod Sanford

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

Dorrie Dils, President and CEO

‘This is what being an organ donor does ... it never replaces grief or loss, but it gives them pride and comfort knowing their loved one helped others with their gifts.’ Little Ollie’s Mama Shayna lives on

program. During her time at the lectern, Debra mentioned that Ollie wanted to know more about how his mom helped other people, and she welcomed transplant recipients to talk with her grandson after the program. I watched later as a man asked her if he could speak with Ollie. He sat down and had what appeared to be a serious chat. I could tell by the tears in the eyes of Ollie’s family that what he had to say about how Mama Shayna helped others was perfect. We can’t bring Ollie’s mother back or fill the void of growing up without his mom. But I hope Ollie will always carry in his heart what an incredible gift Shayna gave and know there is a community of recipients who are thankful for her — and for him. It felt like Ollie had hundreds of moms and dads embracing him that day. This is what being an organ donor does for donor families. It never replaces grief or loss, but it gives them pride and comfort knowing their loved one helped others with their gifts. I hope we can all think of Ollie as we encourage others to Check Your Heart and sign up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry so they can be heroes just like Mama Shayna.

Eight-year-old Ollie stood on his toes at the lectern on the steps of the Capitol in Lansing and belted out just one sentence: “Mama Shayna was a hero!”

seven years ago of a brain abscess stemming from an ear infection. She was just 21. Shayna not only donated three organs, she was also Michigan’s first and only hand donor. Minutes before Debra and Ollie spoke, they joined more than 100 donor families, patients on the waiting list, transplant recipients and living donors for a march to the Capitol steps. I was waiting for them there, and it was so moving to watch as they all filed up the stairs and came together all around me. It reminded me of the hundreds of people who depend on us to do our work at the highest level. I was proud and humbled to be part of it all. As if Ollie’s words about his mom and the beautiful walk weren’t enough, something special happened after we closed the

Dorrie Dils

More than 400 people were with us in June for our annual Check Your Heart Rally and heard that sweet boy who never knew his mother. But Ollie, who was just 1 when Shayna Sturtevant died, knows something pretty special about “Mama Shayna.” She gave so much and helped so many. We were at the Capitol to celebrate the imminent passage of the Check Your Heart Act in the Senate that week. (See page 6.) Ollie was there with his Grandma Debra Wyant as she spoke to the crowd about Shayna, who died

LifeLINES | 2023

Baby Jade saves the life of an infant in the UK Case results in protocol change with worldwide implications

Life tissue procurement specialists surgically recovered the valve after asking LeMaitre to relax its weight rule for her. “We got the call, we heard the story, and it resonated with me,” Michael said. “I have kids, so I thought there was no reason not to give Jade’s parents this opportunity to help others. I’m so happy I did. So are Jade’s parents, Allison and Nick Townsend of Au Gres in northern Michigan. They learned at 26 weeks gestation that Jade had an extra gene and would not survive long after her birth if she made it that far. Their little girl had Trisomy 18, a rare condition afflicting one in 5,000 live births.

despite her birth weight of just 3 pounds, 7 ounces. LeMaitre had required babies to weigh at least 6.5 pounds to donate. The company lifted its restriction in July after learning Jade’s tiny valve was successfully transplanted and the baby is thriving. “Through Baby Jade, we’ve learned that babies all over the world need exceedingly small heart valves,” said Michael Dionne, director of donor services for LeMaitre. “We love her for this. All it takes is one family, one donor to change so much.”

Baby Jade Townsend

BY BETSY MINER-SWARTZ

Babies globally will benefit He said the surgeon who

One of Gift of Life Michigan’s smallest donors – baby Jade Townsend, who lived for just 55 minutes in 2022 – saved the life of another infant this spring. But perhaps her most compelling and lasting legacy is an important protocol change. The tissue processor that accepted her heart valve has lifted all weight requirements for babies to donate heart valves. That’s because Gift of Life Michigan – on behalf of Jade and her parents – asked LeMaitre Vascular in Massachusetts to consider taking Jade’s valve

“We had our moments of sadness, grief and even anger, but then we started to think, ‘How can we make something good come from this?’”

transplanted Jade’s valve told him very small babies die around the world because there are no valves small enough for them. “He became emotional when I told him we have lifted the weight restriction for pediatric donors,” Michael said. Jade’s valve was transplanted into an infant from Bristol, England, more than 3,600 miles from Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Gift of

Allison Townsend

Allison said. “How can we make her life meaningful, knowing that she might only live a couple of hours?’” Three weeks later, they called Gift of Life, hoping she could be a donor.

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

With that special request to LeMaitre, Jade’s legacy began to take shape. Jade’s legacy of giving Allison gave birth to Jade by C-section at Ascension St. Joseph Hospital in Tawas City. Three members of Gift of Life’s staff were there to support Nick and Allison and to fulfill their wishes for Jade. Not only did she donate her heart valves to save the lives of other babies, her placenta is also helping heal patients with traumatic injuries, and Jade’s brain went to research Trisomy 18, Alzheimer’s and other neurological conditions. Recent news that one heart valve saved another baby’s life and changed a family forever is everything the Townsends hoped for. “We knew it would take a very unique situation. This means so much to us in many different ways,” Allison said. “It gives us comfort knowing that Jade continues to give back to this world.” Michael, from LeMaitre, said he needed Jade’s valve to be successfully transplanted so he

Jade Townsend was born with Trisomy 18 and lived just 55 minutes. Her heart valve was transplanted in April.

could permanently eliminate the company’s weight requirement. “When I heard the news I was just so happy. I’ve said it 100 times, but that’s the truth.” Dorrie Dils, Gift of Life’s president and CEO, said her staff could have decided not to ask LeMaitre, and the tissue partner could have turned down Gift of Life’s request. Instead, everyone thought about Allison, Nick, Jade and her potential recipients.

“The right thing happened,” Dorrie said. “Now one family is comforted knowing their daughter saved a life and another family is living with overwhelming gratitude for Jade’s ultimate gift.” Watch Jade’s story here:

“This means so much to us in many different ways. It gives us comfort knowing that Jade continues to

give back to this world.” — Allison Townsend, Jade’s mother

LifeLINES | 2023

The Rally’s moving March of Honor culminated on the steps of the Capitol.

New law lets residents sign up through tax forms Michigan is first in the

nation to provide this opportunity

BY PATRICK WELLS-O’BRIEN

Michigan residents who haven’t yet added their names to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry will have a new and easy way to do so in 2024. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the Check Your Heart Act into law in July, making Michigan the first state in the country to enable residents to add their names to the Donor Registry on their state income tax forms. They can do so in the spring as they complete their forms for the 2023 tax year.

Bill sponsors joined Gift of Life at the June rally in Lansing.

Sherry Johnson, one of more than 100 patients waiting in Michigan for a heart transplant, said she’s proud that Michigan was able to be a leader with the new law. “Sometimes we want to do something and just don’t get

around to it,” she said. “This will give residents a chance once a year to join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry.” Sherry received her first heart transplant 17 years ago. Her gift allowed her to watch her two boys

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

Washington, D.C., briefing educates Michigan’s congressional staffers

Gift of Life hosted a May briefing in Washington, D.C., for health policy and legislative staff from Michigan’s Congressional delegation on issues facing this organ donation program and others nationwide. The goal: Educate policymakers on the growth and success of Gift of Life and correct misinformation about organ procurement organizations (OPOs). Critics portray the nation’s system as failing. Until no one dies waiting for an organ, Gift of Life and other OPOs agree that the system needs to improve. However, the U.S. organ donation system is ranked first in the world and is not failing. Lansing’s Rachel Kuntzsch traveled with Gift of Life and told legislators the story of her heart transplant that came just in time to save her life in 2018. Her donor was a 33-year-old man. The briefing provided facts such as: Critics claim that the nation’s growth in organ donation isn’t attributed to OPO success, but because of the opioid crisis. That’s not true. Over the past five years, organ donation has grown in the U.S. by 39%, and drug-related deaths accounted for just 6% of the surge. In Michigan, referrals to Gift of Life due to drug-related deaths have decreased, while investments in new technology,

grow up. “I was given these years by a registered donor and her supportive family. I hope this new legislation will give more people like me a chance to create memories with their families. I am grateful for every day.” The Donor Registry has struggled due to the change to 12-year renewal cycles for Michigan driver’s licenses. “We’re so hopeful residents will check the box as they file their taxes next year,” said Dorrie Dils, president and CEO of Gift of Life Michigan. “We hope that adding this new and easy way for residents to document their decision will grow the Donor Registry and save the lives of people like Sherry.” About 2,400 patients in Michigan are waiting for transplants today. Roughly 80% are waiting for a kidney, followed by a liver, heart, lungs and various combinations of more than one organ. Other organs that can be transplanted are intestines and pancreas. The bills were sponsored by representatives Felicia Brabec of Pittsfield Township, Cynthia Neeley of Flint, and Natalie Price of Berkley. The Michigan Department of Treasury supported the legislation.

better processes, and more staffing have led to record- breaking growth and lives saved. Another false claim: Organs are lost more frequently than luggage. Gift of Life has never lost an organ en route to transplant centers and all organs are tracked during transportation. Gift of Life is concerned about how new regulations may lead to disruptions in the system instead of improvements and bring in for-profit companies that could erode public trust in a system based on altruism. Contact us here to add your email to our statewide list for updates on advocacy and more. From left: Heart transplant recipient Rachel Kuntzsch of Lansing (fea- tured in this edition), Dorrie Dils, president and CEO; Patrick Wells- O’Brien, VP, communications and external relations.

LifeLINES | 2023

COVER STORY

Rachel Kuntzsch saves lives by telling her story across the state ‘I have an awareness that anything can happen at any time. I was almost an organ donor. Instead, I was a recipient.’

BY BETSY MINER-SWARTZ

Life was “exceedingly rich” for Rachel Kuntzsch when it nearly slipped into darkness forever. She was happy, 44 and her Lansing consulting firm was thriving. Rachel was a strong, vibrant mom, friend, daughter and wife. Time spent with her college-sweetheart husband, David, and their two boys involved travel, sports, kayaks and long hikes on beautiful trails. Everything changed over the course of just a few days in November 2018. Rachel became noticeably winded while doing seemingly simple activities. “I was doing yoga and having a hard time catching my breath. I thought I was worn down,” she said. “Over the course of a weekend, I couldn’t lay down without gasping for air.” Rachel went for an exam the next day and her EKG results pointed to real trouble: “They said, ‘We’re going to take you to the hospital.’ It was lights and sirens and it made no sense to me.”

Rachel and David Kuntzsch embrace and appreciate every day. Rachel was so ill she required heart/lung bypass in the hours before she received the heart of a 33-year-old man nearly five years ago.

A diagnosis with just one cure Rachel spent six days in the ICU without answers before she was transferred to Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. A heart biopsy revealed she had giant cell myocarditis, a fatal diagnosis.

Rachel was placed on a heart/lung bypass machine to sustain her life until a match could be found. She was placed on the national waiting list at status 1A, a category indicating extreme urgency. “I couldn’t hold my own head up. I felt so sick that it crossed my mind that it would feel better to die. But it didn’t last. I wasn’t ready to go,” she said.

Rachel was dying and only a transplant would save her life.

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

LifeLINES | 2023

9 © Photo by Rod Sanford

Rachel Kuntzsch at home in Lansing for the video shoot telling the story of her heart transplant. She received a new heart at the University of Michigan Transplant Center in 2018.

Storytelling to inspire She also has worked tirelessly with Gift of Life to educate legislators in Washington, D.C., and recruit ambassadors and workplace partners in Michigan. Rachel attended hearings at the state Capitol to support the Check Your Heart Act as it worked its way through the House and Senate before reaching Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk. Her contributions helped pass the law allowing Michigan tax filers to join the Donor Registry on their state income tax forms next year.

Just as Rachel was in the fight of her life, a 33-year-old man was losing his. The next news for Rachel and her family came just 24 hours after her name appeared on the national waiting list. That generous man’s heart was a match for Rachel, and it was on its way to the Ann Arbor transplant center on Thanksgiving Day. New heart and new life After a six-hour surgery, Rachel woke up immensely grateful, feeling better – and with the will to work hard to rebuild her strength and the life she once knew.

That donor’s gift saved Rachel. “He allowed me to watch my boys grow up, celebrate birthdays, and see the moon rise,” she said. “I appreciate all of these things because I almost didn’t get them. “I have an awareness that anything can happen at any time. I was almost an organ donor. Instead, I was a recipient.” Rachel has spent hours since then using her community and statewide platform to talk about her experience in hopes of motivating Michigan residents to join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry.

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

Rachel Kuntzsch of Lansing talks with visitors at Gift of Life Michigan’s Community Open House in August. Artelia Griggs, center, is the mother of a tissue donor.

Watch Rachel’s story here:

donation and transplantation at the highest level. “I was so lucky. There are so, so many people waiting needlessly,” Rachel said. “I have a voice and there’s something I can help do about it. So why wouldn’t I?”

“Rachel has been an undeniable force in Michigan’s donation and transplant community,” said Dorrie Dils, president and CEO of Gift of Life, the nation’s 10th- largest organ donation program. “Her willingness to share her frightening and inspiring story has undoubtedly moved people to take the next step and sign up. We’re beyond grateful to her and so thankful a generous donor saved her life.” Rachel was recognized in 2023 as the first recipient of Gift of Life’s Check Your Heart Champion award for her relentless drive to promote

“Rachel has been an undeniable force in Michigan’s donation and

transplant community.” — Dorrie Dils, President and CEO

LifeLINES | 2023

Gift of Life’s gala generates thousands for critical programs Popular event set for April 4

Thank you to our 2023 Champions Gala sponsors • Global Transplant Solutions • Community Tissue Services • Covenant HealthCare • Organ Recovery Systems • Old National Bank • Ossium Health • Corewell Health Transplant Program • InVita HealthCare Technologies • Flagstar Bank • Mutual of America • Michigan Health and Hospital Association • Ascension St. John Hospital • Midland Metals • Print-Tech • AbbVie • Second Chance at Life • Dr. Darla Granger Through Donation — open on Oct. 16 and close on Nov. 30. The nomination form can be found on our website at golm.org during that time. If you or your organization are interested in learning more, contact Susan Rink at srink@golm.org.

attendance with individual tickets available for sale for the first time. The gala will have capacity for as many as 500 guests, roughly double the size of past events. “This event has

BY BETSY MINER-SWARTZ

The annual Champions Gala honoring people and organizations across the state is thriving thanks to the generosity of sponsors supporting the event recognizing the best of the best in the donation

evolved since 2019 into the most inspiring and emotional

and transplant community. The gala received $82,500 in

support from a record 17 sponsors in April. Platinum sponsor Global Transplant Solutions gave $15,000 to

gathering Gift of Life has to offer to Michigan’s donation and transplant

Susan Rink

help recognize champions. The event netted $17,000 to

community,” said Susan Rink, director of advancement who oversees fundraising for the gala. “We simply want to draw as many people as we can so they can experience it.” Mark your calendar: Next year’s cocktail-attire celebration of those who champion donation at the highest level is set for Thursday, April 4, at Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. Nominations in nearly two dozen champion award categories — including honors for Hospital of the Year, Legacy and Honoring Life

help further Gift of Life’s mission, including many education and awareness programs and events throughout the state. “It is our honor to play a part in celebrating Gift of Life’s donation successes by supporting the Champions Gala,” said John Bruens, CEO of Global Transplant Solutions. “Without a doubt, it is one of our favorite events!” The sixth celebration of excellence will expand in 2024 to allow for greater sponsorship and partnership opportunities and higher

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

Study with Stanford University results in more heart transplants

BY BETSY MINER-SWARTZ

Gift of Life Michigan has worked for years to find new ways to increase the use of donor organs for transplantation. One five-year study, in particular, revealed such dramatic and significant findings that Michigan’s organ donation program changed its protocols almost immediately, and results followed. Gift of Life began collaborating with Stanford University in 2015 to determine whether allowing more time after a patient’s first evaluation as a potential heart donor might result in more heart transplants. “We would go on site to evaluate a potential donor’s heart and walk away if the labs and other tests didn’t show good results,” said Kim Baltierra, Gift of Life’s director of organ services. “When we discovered that retesting after about 72 hours showed improved heart function and health, we started changing our protocols.” The result since the early days of the 2015 to 2020 study: More hearts donated, more hearts transplanted and more lives saved, said Clinical Administrator Kristen Grimm-Wulff,

A donor’s heart is labeled and cooled in the Donor Care Center. It was transplanted just hours later.

one of four people involved in compiling data for the study.

function tests when they were first referred from hospitals as potential donors. They then repeated those same tests 72 hours later and found — in many cases — that heart function improved after their initial critical injury or illness. Other employees involved in the successful study include Donation Coordinator Andrea Murphree and Bruce Nicely, vice president of donation optimization. Gift of Life has extracted the same practice for other organs, especially livers and kidneys and has found similar results and similar increases in the number of organs transplanted.

“Organs that we were ruling out before are now being transplanted because we’re giving them time,” Kristen said. “That’s why we follow so

Kim Baltierra

many cases for as long as we do now. We want to give donors the best opportunity to save lives.” Kim said the study involved following thousands of patients ages 18 to 65 with permission from their families. They looked at the results of lab work, EKGs and other heart

LifeLINES | 2023

‘All of Us’ surges in popularity at schools across Michigan

BY TERRI FINCH HAMILTON

There’s a buzz in the air when Gift of Life Michigan educators arrive at a school with their red trunk of supplies and plasticized real human organs used to teach about donation and transplant. The “All of Us” education program is a real draw. “Everybody hears that we’re there,” said Alison Gillum, senior community relations coordinator at Gift of Life. Curious teachers pop in for a look. Students chatter about it in the halls. “When we leave, the people in the office tell us, ‘We’ve been hearing about you guys all day.’” “All of Us” is booming. More teachers than ever are asking for the unique program, with its real organs, interactive games, and personal message about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation. When the program started in 2018 Gift of Life delivered 68 school presentations. This year that number stands at more than 500, with busy months ahead. In just the first half of 2023 “All of Us” has reached 16,181 students — more than in all of 2022.

Students get the opportunity to wear glasses that simulate the distorted vision that comes with cornea damage. Cornea transplants restore sight.

Sometimes, the presentation is extra personal. When Almont High School teacher Kristin Rohrbeck heard about the program last fall, she knew it would be emotional to bring it to her five biology classes. Her daughter, Beth, died the year before of a pulmonary embolism. Beth’s donated corneas helped restore vision to a New Jersey artist and a man in South Korea.

Two substantial gifts are funding the surging interest, Gillum said. Pamela and Krishna Sawhney of Bloomfield Hills donated $125,000 to the award-winning program. And Key2Finesse, a nonprofit founded by Metro Detroit high school students, raised $75,000 to help sustain “All of Us”. The funds have paid for materials and for three additional educators to present the program.

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

“Even before my daughter passed, I always discussed organ donation in my classes,” Kristin said. “But this year, I don’t know if I could have gotten through it by myself.” The engaging, interactive “All of Us” presentation kept her students captivated. Some were fascinated handling organs. They tried on glasses that showed what distorted vision looks like with a damaged cornea. They listened to personal stories and saw photos of organ donors and recipients. “The first time I watched the presentation, it was very emotional for me,” Kristin said. As she looked around her classroom, where her daughter often visited, she saw the message really sink in. “It really helped students understand the compassion and selflessness of organ donation,” she said. “They’re the perfect audience — most would soon be taking driver’s training. They’ll need to decide if they want that little heart on their driver’s license.” After “All of Us,” Alison said, teens are more prepared to decide. Kristin could have said no to the presentation that hit so close to home. “It’s too important,” she said. “Students need the facts to be able to make this decision in an informed way, to recognize the need, to discuss it with their family.

Students hold and touch real human organs as part of an All of Us presentation at their school earlier this year.

“There is no greater gift,” she said. “As quickly as my daughter was gone, there is something beautifully and powerfully redemptive in knowing that in her death, lives are changed because of a gift she chose to give when she was still alive.

“I was proud to have this presentation for our kids,” Kristin said. “It’s a way to help carry Beth’s legacy forward.”

For more information, or to schedule a presentation, visit golm.org/allofus.

“It really helped students understand the compassion and selflessness of organ donation.” — Kristin Rohrbeck, teacher and donor mom

LifeLINES | 2023

Gift of Life sets organ and tissue records – again Milestones keep coming in Michigan

efforts that include the Check Your Heart campaign. Donation and transplants are on the rise across the nation. Still, with more than 100,000 patients waiting nationwide for life-saving organs, neither Gift of Life nor its contemporaries can rest, Dorrie said. About 2,400 are waiting for organs in Michigan. “Our work is so important and as long as there is a list of patients waiting in Michigan and the U.S., we must strive to do more.”

Gift of Life’s president and CEO. “I tell them our teams are dedicated and, as part of that, we’re focused on our opportunities to increase donors so we can help the people who depend on us. “And, of course, donors and their families really want to save and heal lives. We’re helping them do that.” Dorrie said a few changes have helped. They include hiring more staff, offering more donation education in schools statewide, including the U.P., and marketing

BY BETSY MINER-SWARTZ

Gift of Life Michigan helped a record 63 people become organ donors in May, resulting in another record 167 organs transplanted in a single month. That same month saw the highest number of tissue donors — 177 — ever. And that milestone fell in June when 179 donors gave gifts of tissue for healing and mobility. “On the national front, our colleagues are asking ‘What’s going on in Michigan?’” said Dorrie Dils,

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

Using digital marketing statewide to save lives

Growing awareness one impression at a time

The campaign also encourages them to share their decision with their families. “Until no one dies waiting for a life- saving organ, we have to continue to find creative ways to get the message out to register,” said Racha Kardahji, director of marketing and communications at Gift of Life. “It’s

BY RACHA KARDAHJI

Gift of Life Michigan is working to educate and inspire

action using data and by telling the stories of donors, their families and organ and tissue recipients whose lives are changed by their gifts. The state’s organ donation program is expanding its reach to meet more people where they are – which is on their devices using social media and other digital platforms. The average internet user spends roughly 400 minutes a day online, providing ample opportunity to connect them to the Check Your Heart campaign, which launched in 2022. The premise is simple: Check for the heart on your driver’s license or state ID. If it’s there, you’re a registered organ, eye and tissue donor. If it’s not, check within yourself and consider adding your Racha Kardahji

crucial that we continue to educate and inform until we have no one left on the waiting list.” It takes an average of seven times for a person to see a message for it to resonate. Every Check Your Heart campaign impression — views of the message — is one step closer to helping someone with their decision. Nearly 2,400 patients are waiting in Michigan for an organ transplant. One donor has the potential to save up to eight lives; tissue donors can heal as many as 125 patients. Organ and tissue donors not only change life for their recipients, but also touch the lives of their families, friends, coworkers and communities.

“One person’s decision to help another changes life for everyone who knows the recipients,” Racha said. “Registering to become a donor has that kind of life-altering reach.” Please consider adding your name to the Donor Registry at golm.org/ register or by visiting the Michigan Secretary of State’s website at Michigan.gov/sos.

For more facts, visit golm.org.

name to the Donor Registry. The multimedia campaign is designed to share data,

Please don’t forget to like, comment and share Gift of Life Michigan social media.

information and stories to provide Michiganders with enough facts to help them make a decision.

LifeLINES | 2023

Staff Spotlight Cindy Zarate takes care of donors before they give their final gifts

Veteran Gift of Life employee loves what she does for people

“I love taking care of people,” Cindy said. “When I was 7, my aunt walked into my grandma’s house wearing a white nurse’s hat, white shoes and uniform. She looked just like an angel and that’s when I knew I wanted to be a nurse.”

BY BETSY MINER-SWARTZ

Donation Coordinator Cindy Zarate squeezes a terry cloth towel soaked with warm, soapy water and slowly wipes it across the arms of a man whose life ended the day before. It’s her job to be there for him at Gift of Life Michigan’s Donor Care Center in Ann Arbor. The hospital- like center is home to a three-bed unit with operating rooms and coordinators like Cindy committed to giving donors the dignity and honor they deserve. The Donor Care Center is where as many as 165 organ donors a year give their final gifts. In the days and hours before transplant teams arrive, most are cared for by Cindy, who has spent 35 years as an RN. She spent the first part of her career at McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey, Ascension Borgess Hospital Hospital in Kalamazoo, and Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. She’s been at Gift of Life for the past 21 years.

Donor care and gratitude More than 1,000 donors have

been cared for by Cindy and her colleagues since the center opened in 2016. “We give them a bath, mouth care, and make sure they’re covered up. It’s what we do in their final days and hours. His life has ended but he’s still a person,” Cindy said gesturing to a 60-year-old man in a bed a few feet away. He registered to help others before he became critically ill. “There’s dignity and respect for the lives they’ve lived and the gifts they’re about to give,” Cindy said. Personal items sometimes are transferred with them, and Cindy watches over those, too. A cowboy hat, a favorite blanket, photos and team logo items have all occupied space at the Donor Care Center. If a family member calls wishing to speak to their loved one, Cindy will

Donation Coordinator Cindy Zarate in the Donor Care Center where donors give their final gifts.

put the phone to the donor’s ear. She also talks to donors. “If they’re young, I will repeat what their parents have told me. I say things like, ‘You’re such a good kid. Your mom and dad love you.’” Kim Baltierra, Director of Organ Services at Gift of Life, said Cindy cares for donors like family. “She washes and combs their hair if they need it. She treats them as if the family is standing right next to them.” “Cindy is incredible. And she’s what Gift of Life is all about, which is making sure the needs of donors and their families are met at the

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

highest level,” Kim said. “Because they are true heroes for others.” The needs of families are also met there. If they want special music, a letter from family or friends, poem or prayer read in the operating room, Cindy and other coordinators make sure it’s played or read. “This man’s family requested rock and roll,’’ she says. “I’ve heard a lot of ‘Amazing Grace’ through the years, rap music and REO Speedwagon’s ‘Time for Me to Fly’ is also a popular one. Cindy said being around death every day can be difficult. “But I get to take care of someone who is giving organs and life to others. So, I know I’m also helping others live.” The man she washed and talked to that day became a donor the following evening. His gifts: Both kidneys for two patients waiting for a transplant.

Teams pause to recognize an organ donor in the OR.

Donor Care Center facts Gift of Life Michigan has a dedicated space at the Ann Arbor headquarters where most tissue donors and as many as 165 organ donors each year are transferred to give their final gifts. A few facts: • More than 1,000 organ donors have been cared for there since the facility opened in 2016. • It includes a three-bed ICU where donation coordinators care for donors’ needs and their organ health before donation occurs. • The care center has operating rooms for both organ and tissue donation. • Families wanting to travel to Ann Arbor have a dedicated space and receive a special care kit. • Gift of Life teams and transplant surgeons pause in the OR for every donor to speak their name, thank them for their gifts and read poems, lyrics or letters sent along by their families. • Special music for donors is played in the operating room as requested by families.

This prayer was read in the OR at the request of a donor’s family.

LifeLINES | 2023

Volunteer Spotlight

Gift of lungs motivates recipient to share her spirit

Debora Dearring adds names to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry

Debora’s voice is louder now, powered by healthy lungs and determination to help others. During her months at the Detroit hospital, growing weaker as she waited, “I refused to give up on myself,” she said. “There’s always hope. Never diminish that. Sometimes it’s all you have.” She handed out index cards, asking visitors and hospital staff to jot down encouraging words. The cards covered her room’s walls, more than 330 in all. “I’d look at the cards and think, ‘OK, I can do this.’” After her 2015 transplant, Debora visited and reassured nervous transplant candidates when doctors or nurses asked her to spread her positivity. One day she encountered a transplant candidate mired in negativity and asked him what made

BY TERRI FINCH HAMILTON

Debora Dearring visits churches and community events to share her transplant story and help people join the Donor Registry. him happy. He brightened up and told her how he built model railroads, so Debora helped him fill a poster board with pictures of his trains and smiling loved ones. He got his new lungs. They still keep in touch. “There’s joy in just knowing you can help someone else,” Debora said. Soon she was visiting area churches and community events, sharing her story and signing people up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. “I’ll go anywhere and set up a table, you better believe it,” Debora said. When she spoke at her church, New St. Mark Baptist Church, she signed up 20 new organ donors on the spot. Every time somebody stops at her folding table and registers, it’s a

Debora Dearring lived at Henry Ford Hospital for nine months, seven of them waiting and praying for a double-lung transplant that would save her life. The days and months were long and she was grateful for any little kindness. When the kitchen sent up her favorite not-on-the-menu fried eggs, she cried. Debora, 63, was diagnosed in 2010 with sarcoidosis — a chronic disease that caused debilitating lesions in her lungs. Her doctor’s news was shocking: She couldn’t leave the hospital until she had new lungs. “I thought I’d be there two weeks, maybe a month, tops,” she said. “The day they finally told me I was getting lungs, I could barely scream, but I screamed as much as I could.”

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

Debora Dearring, right, is inspired to help educate and motivate others to join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. She received the gift of lungs in 2015.

victory, she said. “But it’s more of a victory for them.” She’s active with the Detroit Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP), where she helps organize events such as the annual LIFE Walk/Run at Belle Isle State Park in Detroit. Debora is also on the board of directors of Aarolyn’s House of Hope, a nonprofit working to open

a house in Detroit for out-of-town transplant patients and their families to stay. Debora said she’s grateful for life, her organ donor and the support of her family and friends “every day I open my eyes.” Something changes in you after you receive an organ transplant, Debora said — beyond the new lungs or kidney.

“Maybe it’s empowerment,” she mused. “Empowerment to do good, to have a purpose. “The purpose I have now is to encourage people, enlighten them, educate them,” Debora said. “So many people invested time and care and compassion in me. I want to

give all those things now.” Visit golm.org/volunteer to become a volunteer.

LifeLINES | 2023

A summer of saving lives

Gift of Life and partners around the state had an inspiring summer with events in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids and beyond. We hosted the Check Your Heart Rally in Lansing, MOTTEP’s LIFE Walk/Run on Belle Isle in Detroit, Gift of Life’s Community Open House in Ann Arbor, and Donate Life Night at the Zoo in West Michigan. The combined attendance: About 3,000 passionate folks connected to or curious about donation and transplantation. Learn how you can get involved at golm.org.

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

Join us! Community Blood Drive Sept. 20 • Gift of Life, Ann Arbor HOSA Challenge (Health Occupational Students of America) Oct. 16 - Nov. 3 • Statewide Dia de los Muertos Ofrenda Oct. 16 - Nov. 3 • Gift of Life, Ann Arbor Campus Challenge Jan. 25 - Feb. 29 • Statewide Visit golm.org/events to see what’s going on.

LifeLINES | 2023

Transplant Throwback

Why did you need a transplant and when did it happen? Back during the Vietnam War, I received a letter to report for duty. But the doctor there said I was disqualified, that I was sick. I thought, ‘Sick from what?’ I felt fine. But a few years later I was very, very, very sick. Lots of doctors were looking at me, but they didn’t know what was wrong. They finally concluded that my kidneys were failing. They gave me medicine that kept me well for a few years. But finally, when I was 27, my kidneys completely shut down. It was pretty bad news from the doctor. He said, “If you don’t have a transplant, you have very little time to go.” That was 1973. Kidney transplants then were very new. It was quite sad and depressing for me for a while. But I knew I was just surviving, not living. I said to myself, “I don’t want to go on living this sick.” My six brothers all got tested. I’m still thankful to my brother Vincente who gave me an opportunity to still be here. Name: Guadalupe Alejos Age: 77 Home: Grand Rapids Transplant: Kidney

I never thought I would make it this long. The doctor told me my new kidney would last 10 to 15 years. I’m glad I’m able to still be here. What are the three to five most important events or experiences you’ve been able to enjoy because a donor saved your life? I enjoy my family. We raised three children and I could be there for them.

That was 50 years ago! How are you doing? I’m doing well. I take my medicine as prescribed; I follow the instructions my doctor gives me, and I eat healthy. I get checkups to see how my kidney is doing. I’ve developed diabetes, but it has nothing to do with my transplant. Things just happen as you get older.

“I’ve gone on trips to Mexico that would have been impossible without my health.”

Gift of Life Michigan | golm.org

Think again if you believe you’re too old to donate

BY BETSY MINER-SWARTZ

I’ve gone on trips to Mexico that would have been impossible without my health. I’ve visited my oldest brother in California. I had a career in social services working for the state, determining eligibility for people to get food stamps, medical and financial assistance. That was quite something being able to help people. I used to work as a factory worker, and a migrant worker. I knew what they were going through. What has it been like knowing your brother donated a kidney to save your life? I’m still so thankful to Vincente. I’m thankful to God, I’m thankful to my wife, Lupe, who has taken care of me. Vincente is 85. He’s there for me and I’m there for him. We all look after each other. I’m glad I’m still here. It really was a gift of life.

One of the greatest myths related to organ and tissue donation is that there’s a strict age limit and that older people can’t save the lives of others. That couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, more than 25% of organ donors in Michigan last year were 60 or older. And 20 of the state’s 463 donors in 2022 were 70 or older. Each was able to save at least one life.

Katherine Steck

“Please don’t rule yourself out,” said Bruce Nicely, VP of donation optimization at Gift of Life Michigan. “We help donors

And tissue donors can be even older. Case in point: Gift of Life helped 101-year-old Katherine Steck of Jackson become a tissue donor in 2022. Her family was thrilled to know her decision to help others was honored. She had the heart on her driver’s license. “We’ve had tissue donors well into their 90s,” Bruce said. “With tissue donation, those grafts can be strengthened and used regardless of the age of the donor.” Bottom line: If you want to help others, simply document your decision by adding your name to Michigan’s Donor Registry. Then let medical experts decide if you can help when it’s time. Go to golm.org/register to add your name to the Donor Registry. For more information, visit golm.org/faq.

Bruce Nicely

of all ages save lives, including a handful every year who are 75 or older. Please, if you want to give the gift of life, just join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry.” Thousands of older people save lives across the country each year with gifts of kidneys, livers and other organs. Some were even in their 80s or 90s. Your medical condition at the time of your death will determine whether your organs are healthy enough to help another person. And while someone with heart disease, for example, can’t donate their heart, they might qualify to donate a kidney. Age isn’t a factor in and of itself. Organ health is.

LifeLINES | 2023

Gift of Life Michigan 3861 Research Park Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48108

Check Your Heart in two ways:

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