Central Michigan University And Gift Of Life Michigan Launch Donor Registration In Employee Benefits

Central Michigan University And Gift Of Life Michigan Launch First In Nation Donor Registration Partnership

USA: Central Michigan University and Gift of Life Michigan launched a first-of-its-kind partnership to expand organ and tissue transplantation opportunities and support patients on waiting lists. More than 2,700 people are waiting for a life-saving organ in Michigan and roughly 100,000 nationwide; CMU is the first employer in Michigan and the first university in the United States to offer employees the option to register as organ donors through benefits enrollment.

The university has embedded a donor registration question into open enrollment for benefits-eligible employees and will include the option in onboarding for new hires. Campus leaders and Gift of Life Michigan staff helped design the initiative with input from students and faculty who have lived transplant experience or family members who were organ recipients or donors.

Organ and tissue procurement and transplantation are central to the program’s goals: increasing registry participation, shortening wait times, and offering more timely matches for patients in need. Volunteer student and staff teams also created comfort blankets to be given to donor families, intended to provide warmth and solace during their loss and to acknowledge the impact of donation on recipients’ lives.

University and Gift of Life Michigan officials say the initiative aligns with CMU’s community mission and could serve as a model for other employers and campuses seeking to integrate donor registration into routine HR processes and support statewide transplantation needs.

Video originally published on 2026-03-31 18:29:23