Organ and Tissue Donation in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Organ and tissue donation is a life-saving medical process that helps seriously ill people in Grand Rapids, across West Michigan, and throughout the United States. Donated organs are transplanted into patients who are very sick and often waiting in local hospitals such as Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, and Metro Health – University of Michigan Health. Tissue donation, including eye and corneal donation, can restore sight and improve quality of life for many others.

The United States has some of the best transplant success rates in the world, and research consistently shows that most Americans support organ and tissue donation. In Michigan, residents can easily register their decision to become an organ donor and help patients right here in the Grand Rapids area.

What Is Organ and Tissue Donation?

Donation is the voluntary giving of organs and/or tissue to help someone who needs a transplant. A transplant can:

  • Save a life (for example, a heart, liver, or kidney transplant)
  • Dramatically improve quality of life (for example, a cornea or joint tissue transplant)

One organ donor can:

  • Save up to 8 lives through organ donation
  • Help dozens more through eye and tissue donation

This is only possible when donors and their families agree to donate organs and tissue after death, or when someone chooses to be a living donor.

Why Organ Donation Is Important in Grand Rapids and Michigan

At any given time, thousands of people across the United States are on the organ transplant waiting list. Many are treated at major West Michigan centers such as:

  • Spectrum Health / Corewell Health transplant and specialty clinics
  • Trinity Health Grand Rapids
  • Metro Health – University of Michigan Health
  • Regional hospitals that coordinate with transplant centers in Detroit and Ann Arbor

Because there are fewer donated organs than people waiting, some patients:

  • Spend weeks or months in the hospital
  • Make multiple trips each week for dialysis or other intensive treatment
  • Become too sick to survive while waiting

People who need an organ transplant are usually very ill because one or more of their organs is failing. This can affect:

  • Infants and children
  • Teens and young adults
  • Middle-aged adults
  • Older adults

Causes include congenital (present at birth) conditions, genetic diseases, long-term illnesses, and sudden organ failure from infection, injury, or other medical emergencies.

In Michigan’s cold winters, chronic conditions like heart disease and respiratory illnesses can worsen, and some of these patients may eventually need transplants. None of us can know when a family member, friend, coworker, or neighbor in Grand Rapids might need an organ or tissue transplant.

Pathways to Organ Donation

There are three main pathways to organ donation:

1. Brain Death

Brain death is not the same as a coma.

  • Coma:

    • The person is unconscious but still has some brain activity.
    • The brain may heal, and recovery is sometimes possible.

  • Brain death:

    • There is no blood flow or activity in the brain due to severe brain injury.
    • The person has permanently lost the potential for consciousness and the ability to breathe on their own.
    • A ventilator may keep the heart beating and blood circulating, but there is no possibility of recovery.

In the United States, brain death is legally recognized as death. To confirm brain death:

  • A series of tests is performed by two independent, appropriately qualified senior doctors.
  • Only after brain death is confirmed can organ donation be considered, and only with proper consent.

2. Circulatory Death

Circulatory death is the irreversible loss of circulation after the heart stops beating and cannot (or ethically should not) be restarted.

This may occur:

  • After a cardiac arrest where resuscitation is not successful or not appropriate
  • After a planned and carefully managed withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment in an ICU or Emergency Department

For circulatory death donation:

  • The patient is monitored very closely.
  • Donation only proceeds once circulation has irreversibly ceased.
  • Timeframes are very short because organs cannot be without oxygenated blood for long.

3. Living Donation

While alive, a person may choose to donate:

  • One kidney
  • A segment of their liver
  • Discarded bone from a hip or knee replacement (for tissue donation)

Living donation is carefully evaluated to protect the health and safety of the donor. In the U.S., there are also paired kidney exchange programs that help patients who have a willing but incompatible living donor find a compatible match.

If you are interested in living donation, talk with your:

  • Primary care provider or GP
  • Nephrologist (kidney specialist) or transplant center (often in larger Michigan centers such as Detroit or Ann Arbor that coordinate with Grand Rapids hospitals)

How Organ and Tissue Donation Works

Organs and tissue from a donor are only used when:

  1. The donor has registered as an organ donor
    and/or
  2. The donor’s family or legal next-of-kin gives consent after death

In the United States, registering as a donor provides clear guidance to healthcare professionals and your family about your wishes.

Even if you have mentioned your wishes before, it is very important to:

  • Officially record your decision
  • Talk about your decision with your loved ones

When a person in Grand Rapids is in a position to donate and is registered:

  • The donation team will ask the senior next-of-kin to support that decision.
  • Families are far more likely to say “yes” when they know what their loved one wanted.

Statistics show:

  • About 8 in 10 families agree to donation if their loved one is registered.
  • Only 4 in 10 families agree if they are unsure of their loved one’s wishes.

Sharing your decision now makes a very difficult moment easier for your family later.

What Can Be Donated?

Health professionals assess, at the time of death, which organs and tissues are safe and suitable for transplant.

Organs That May Be Donated

  • Kidneys
  • Heart
  • Lungs
  • Liver
  • Pancreas
  • Intestines
  • (In some cases) Stomach or other abdominal organs as part of multi-organ transplants

Tissues That May Be Donated

  • Heart valves and cardiac tissue
  • Pancreatic islet cells
  • Bone and tendons
  • Skin
  • Eye tissue, including corneas (to restore or improve sight)

Unlike organs, many tissues:

  • Can be retrieved up to 24 hours after death, regardless of where the person died
  • Can be stored for a period of time before transplantation

This means many more people are eligible to be tissue donors than organ donors.

Who Can Be a Donor?

There are very few medical conditions that automatically prevent someone from becoming a donor. You should not rule yourself out based on:

  • Your age
  • Most medical conditions
  • Your lifestyle history (health professionals will evaluate this at the time of death)

At the time of death:

  • A detailed medical assessment is done by qualified healthcare professionals.
  • They determine whether some or all organs and tissues are suitable for transplant.

It is important to understand that:

  • Only a small percentage of people who die in the hospital meet all the medical and timing conditions needed for organ donation.
  • Nationally, less than 2% of hospital deaths are medically suitable for organ donation.

Because opportunities are rare, every registered donor in Grand Rapids and Michigan is extremely valuable.

How Organs and Tissues Are Allocated

In the United States, organ and tissue allocation follows strict ethical and medical guidelines. Allocation is based on:

  • Medical compatibility (blood type, size, tissue match, etc.)
  • Medical urgency (how urgently the patient needs a transplant)
  • Length of time on the waiting list
  • Geographic considerations (to keep organs within safe transport times, often within regions such as the Midwest)

Race, gender, income, or social status are not considered in organ allocation.

For Grand Rapids residents, donated organs may:

  • Help patients in West Michigan hospitals
  • Be matched with patients across Michigan or neighboring states, depending on the best match and urgency

Tissue donations are processed and stored by specialized tissue banks and can be shipped to where they are needed, including back to hospitals in Grand Rapids.

Registering as an Organ and Tissue Donor in Michigan

In Michigan, registering as an organ donor is simple and can be done in several ways. Unlike in the past, your donor status is no longer determined only by your driver’s license—it’s important to ensure you are registered in the official system.

Ways to Register in Michigan

You can:

  • Register online through official state and national organ donor websites
  • Sign up when you renew your driver’s license or state ID at the Secretary of State office
  • Check or update your donor status online through Michigan’s secure services

When you register, you can choose to:

  • Donate all organs and tissues
  • Limit your donation to specific organs or tissues
  • Register your decision not to donate, so your wishes are clearly known

Healthcare professionals in Grand Rapids and across the United States can access your registered decision when needed.

Eye and Tissue Donation in Grand Rapids

Eye and tissue donation is especially important in communities like Grand Rapids, where:

  • Corneal transplants can restore sight to people with eye diseases or injuries.
  • Donated bone and tendons can help people recover from orthopedic injuries, including those from winter falls or sports.
  • Donated skin can help burn victims and people with serious wounds.

Tissue donation can often occur even when organ donation is not possible, and it can help many more people over time.

Talking With Your Family About Donation

The most important step after registering is to tell your family and close friends about your decision.

Consider:

  • Sharing why organ and tissue donation matters to you
  • Letting them know you want to help others in Grand Rapids, West Michigan, and beyond
  • Encouraging them to consider registering as donors as well

Do not leave the decision solely up to your family during a crisis. When they already know your wishes, they can feel confident honoring them.

Local Grand Rapids and Michigan Resources

If you live in Grand Rapids or Kent County and have questions about organ and tissue donation, you can:

  • Talk to your primary care doctor or family physician
  • Speak with specialists at:
    • Spectrum Health / Corewell Health
    • Trinity Health Grand Rapids
    • Metro Health – University of Michigan Health
  • Contact local public health resources:
    • Kent County Health Department
    • Grand Rapids Public Health (city public health resources and outreach programs)

These organizations can provide:

  • Educational materials on organ and tissue donation
  • Information about chronic disease management (such as diabetes, kidney disease, and heart disease) that may lead to transplant needs
  • Guidance on staying healthy through Michigan’s seasonal changes, which can impact heart and lung health

Key Points About Organ and Tissue Donation

  • At any time, thousands of Americans are on the organ transplant waiting list, including many from Michigan and the Grand Rapids region.
  • People waiting for transplants are often very sick, sometimes spending weeks or months in the hospital or making frequent trips for treatments like dialysis.
  • Organ donation can save up to 8 lives, and tissue donation can help many more.
  • Brain death is not a coma; it is the complete and irreversible loss of all brain function and is legally recognized as death.
  • Only a small percentage of people who die in hospitals are medically able to become organ donors, which makes every registered donor especially important.
  • Registering as an organ and tissue donor and sharing your decision with your family is the best way to ensure your wishes are honored and to help others after your death.

By choosing to be an organ and tissue donor in Grand Rapids, you can leave a powerful legacy—saving and transforming lives throughout West Michigan and across the United States.