September 29, 2005

LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today signed legislation that will encourage Michigan residents to become organ and tissue donors.  The four-bill package will create a heart insignia to be placed on driver’s licenses and state identification cards that denotes that the holder of the card is a registered organ donor.  The legislation also requires the Secretary of State to provide information to all license applicants and ask if they are interested in becoming donors.

“We must do all that we can to promote the life-saving gift of organ donation,” Granholm said.  “This legislation will help ensure that every Michigan resident has the information they need to make an informed decision and provides a way for them to make a clear statement of their wishes on their driver’s license or state identification card.”

Currently, almost 2,800 Michigan residents are waiting for organ transplants and hundreds more are in need of other tissue including heart valves, tendons, bones and corneas.  While more than 400 people have received transplants this year, 72 patients have died waiting.  Just 8 percent of Michigan’s population is registered with the state’s donor registry, one of the lowest rates in the nation.  The 41 states that already have a donor designation on their license average almost 40 percent registration.  A recent study estimated that Michigan’s registry would triple in size in the first four years after this law takes effect.

“This is a tremendous victory for the thousands of Michigan residents who are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant,” said Representative John Gleason (D-Flushing), who received a kidney transplant from his sister, Rita Blanchard, in 2001. “This law will make more organs available to the people who so desperately need them to stay alive. I am proud of the work we’ve done here.”

In addition to increasing the number of people registered as donors, the legislation provides for technology improvements in collecting and transferring donor information.  The electronic data transfer between the Secretary of State’s office and the state’s donor registry will provide quicker and more accurate information.

“Gift of Life Michigan thanks Governor Granholm, the bill sponsors and Secretary of State Land for their support of organ and tissue donation,” said Tom Beyersdorf, Executive Director, Gift of Life Michigan.  “In other states, similar laws have tripled the number of registered organ and tissue donors.  Ultimately, this is a great opportunity to save more lives in Michigan and ensure that residents' wishes can be honored at the time of donation.”

The four bills signed by the Governor are:  Senate Bill 301 sponsored by Senator Jud Gilbert (R-Algonac); House Bills 4469 and 4082 sponsored by Representative Gleason; and House Bill 4470 sponsored by Representative Phil LaJoy (R-Canton).