Organ Donation

Do you have a red heart donor symbol on your driver’s license?

A letter from Tom Defauw, Port Huron Hospital President & CEO

About 3,000 Michigan patients are on the waiting list to receive desperately needed organs. Last year, 288 people donated organs at Michigan hospitals. While those commitments are praiseworthy — they are not enough to meet the needs of our fellow Michiganders. Michigan ranks 42nd nationwide in percentage of individuals who have officially registered as organ donors.

Collectively, Michigan hospitals are being encouraged to rally support and participation from employees, family members, neighbors, friends and members of the community to add 100,000 new registrants to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. We have set a goal of adding one name to the registry for every two employees, making our total 750 new registrants by the end of 2010. This effort will officially kickoff on Thursday, April 15, with a Gift of Life Michigan registry station at Port Huron Hospital from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Most Michigan residents don’t know that signing the back of their driver’s license is no longer enough to be a donor. If you have not already joined the registry, please do so at the registry station in the hospital on Thursday or by following the directions on the right.  The online registration process will prompt you to identify how you heard about organ donation. Please select “hospital” from the drop-down menu, then click on Port Huron Hospital from the second drop down. This will help us track how many employees, friends, family and members of the community sign up.

After joining the registry, the Michigan Secretary of State’s office will mail you a heart logo to place on your driver’s license or state ID. Joining takes less than a minute, but it could mean years of new life for those needing a transplant.

Thank you for helping those in need! Your assistance in this effort is deeply appreciated. I have added my name to the donor registry — have you?

You may also use the "widget" below. Double-click on the red "Sign up as a donor" button. Use the scroll bar that appears to access the built in form. The results will be the same as those in steps one through three above.