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Stories of Hope

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Patrick Pruitt's eyesight was saved by a cornea donor when he was a young child.
Blog, Gift of LifeLines, Stories of Hope | December 15, 2023

Cornea recipient celebrates his gift of sight

I’m here because 32 years ago I received a life-changing gift. Sight is an easy thing to take for granted and, like so much in…

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Terri Finch Hamilton's father was a donor-in-spirit at the end of his life.
Blog, Gift of LifeLines, Stories of Hope | December 15, 2023

My dad is a ‘donor in spirit’

I was sitting in my living room, numb with grief, when the phone rang. My dad had died a few hours earlier. A woman named…

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Sherry Johnson, with hair pulled back right, sits on her bed in her hospital room while she waits for a second heart and kidney transplant. Her forearm is facing the camera so we can see her tattoo, representing her original heart and her first transplanted heart.
Blog, Gift of LifeLines, Stories of Hope | December 14, 2023

You gave me your heart so I could live my dreams

Sherry Johnson shares her experiences as a heart transplant patient who waits again Sherry Johnson was so exhausted she couldn’t walk her two little boys…

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Taneisha Carswell received a kidney transplant from her cousin. Her young nephew later became a donor.
Blog, Gift of LifeLines, Stories of Hope | December 14, 2023

Staff Spotlight: As a donation educator, Taneisha Carswell knows when to talk and when to listen

Gift of Life staffer’s kidney transplant gives her personal perspective If Taneisha Carswell doesn’t convince someone to be an organ donor right away, no worries….

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Chris Kowalski shared his story as a heart transplant recipient at the 2023 Inspiring Champions Symposium.
Blog, Stories of Hope | December 14, 2023

Volunteer Spotlight: Chris Kowalski speaks while he waits for a life-saving heart transplant

Not much will stop this volunteer from telling his story Chris Kowalski won’t let much get in the way of telling people about organ donation….

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Kay Walters, pictured with her daughter, received a heart transplant in 1997.
Blog, Stories of Hope | December 14, 2023

Transplant Throwback: Kay Walters

Name: Kay Walters Age: 72 Home: Holt Transplant: Heart Why did you need a transplant and when did it happen? I had my heart transplant…

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Mike Lopez (left) received a liver transplant when John Edmond (right) donated his 7-year old daughter's organs
Blog, Gift of LifeLines, Stories of Hope | December 13, 2023

A brotherhood is born out of death, life and gratitude

John Edmond barely gave it a thought as a woman from Gift of Life Michigan entered his young daughter’s room in the pediatric Intensive Care…

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Curpri Sanders received the gift of a tissue donation for her reconstruction surgery after a double mastectomy.
Blog, Let's Talk, Stories of Hope | October 16, 2023

Tissue donor changes life for breast cancer survivor

“I can look in the mirror every day and not be reminded of the hell I went through.” Curpri Sanders experienced the happiest time in…

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Guadalupe Alejos, who received a kidney transplant 50 years ago, standing in front of the Kidney Transplant Center sign
Blog, Gift of LifeLines, Stories of Hope | September 12, 2023

Transplant Throwback: Guadalupe Alejos 

Name: Guadalupe Alejos Age: 77 Home: Grand Rapids Transplant: Kidney at Trinity Health Kidney Transplant Center Why did you need a transplant and when did it…

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Heart transplant recipient Rachel Kuntzsch
Blog, Gift of LifeLines, Stories of Hope | September 12, 2023

Lansing heart recipient saves lives by telling her story of hope

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….

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Double lung transplant recipient Debora Dearring
Blog, Gift of LifeLines, Let's Talk, Stories of Hope | September 7, 2023

Volunteer Spotlight: Gift of lungs motivates Debora Dearring to share her own spirit and compassion

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…

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Tristan Johnson walking across the lacrosse field carrying his game gear
Blog, Stories of Hope | April 12, 2023

Grueling time on dialysis ends with ultimate gift

Organ donor saves star high school athlete who then literally pays it forward to help donation programs  A young donor saved two things most important…

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Aarolyn McCullough stands in front of Henry Ford Hospital, where she received her liver transplant in 2011.
Blog, Stories of Hope | March 29, 2023

Volunteer Spotlight: Liver transplant recipient dreams big

Volunteer wants to help transplant families with House of Hope for extended stays in Detroit  Aarolyn McCullough was inspired by one simple question: “Where can…

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Philip Perry holds up a sign highlighting that 95% of adults support organ donation but only 57% have signed up to be donors.
Blog, Stories of Hope | March 1, 2023

Monroe man raises awareness about organ donation while waiting for a new heart

Philip Perry is trying to stay busy and remain healthy – anything he can do to keep his mind off the fact that he needs…

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Vickie Figeroa stands in front of several pews and stained glass windows
Blog, Let's Talk, Stories of Hope | February 3, 2023

Heart recipient adopts second mission: Advocating for organ, tissue donation

“I always tell people to sign up,” Grosse Pointe Woods woman says Vickie Figueroa makes her living ensuring that people of Black, Hispanic and Native…

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