Michigan Colleges Compete to Save Lives

A group of Grand Valley State University students is encouraging peers, professors and local community members to sign up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. During the six-week Gift of Life Campus Challenge, 16 schools from across the state will compete to sign up the most people to the registry.

“College students are great supporters of organ, tissue and eye donation,” said Richard Pietroski, chief executive officer of Gift of Life Michigan.  “The Campus Challenge continues to be one of our most successful events, thanks to the energy and enthusiasm shown by students and fans of Michigan's colleges.  We anticipate a great show of support from Grand Valley.”  Since its inception in 2004, the Gift of Life Campus Challenge has inspired nearly 22,000 people to sign up on the Donor Registry. 

Participating colleges will encourage students, faculty and other supporters to sign up on the Donor Registry through e-mail messages, Twitter, Facebook, public service announcements, donor registry stations in student unions and at athletic events, and by selling Campus Challenge T-shirts.  Two trophies will be awarded at the end of the competition, one to the school with the most donor registrations and one to the school with the most registrations compared to student population.

To sign up and credit Grand Valley, visit www.GiftOfLifeMichigan.org, click on the button to join the Donor Registry and select the school's name from the drop-down menu provided. 

Since 2007, Michigan's Secretary of State provides a red heart donor symbol for the driver's license and state ID cards of residents who sign up on the Donor Registry.  Out-of-state students can sign up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, but will not receive a red heart symbol.

The Gift of Life Campus Challenge is one of the most successful organ donation college outreach programs in the nation, and has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Health &  Human Services for its exceptional results.  Gift of Life Michigan is the state's federally designated organ and tissue recovery organization, which acts as intermediary between donors, their families and hospital staff.  Gift of Life Michigan, in collaboration with the Michigan Eye-Bank, provides all services necessary for organ, tissue and eye donation.