GETTING A THIRD CHANCE. Above, Washington Township resident Michael Champine has been able to lead a full life thanks to those who have signed up as organ donors, having received two transplants during his lifetime. The Secretary of State has encouraged residents to sign up as organ donors during April, known as Donate Life Month.
(Observer photo by Debi Martone)
Local man shows importance
of being an organ donor
of being an organ donor
Roughly 3,000 Michigan residents
await an organ transplant
await an organ transplant
by CHRIS GRAY
Observer Staff Writer
If it weren't for generous people signing up to donate their organs and tissue, people like Washington Township resident Michael Champine wouldn't be alive today.Observer Staff Writer
He was not only given a second chance by people who have signed up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, but a third chance at life by undergoing two transplants.
"I'm alive, I'm able to spend time with my family, I work, and enjoy my life because there were people brave and responsible enough to donate," he said.
Champine, a father of three children and grandfather of nine, first experienced the importance of organ donation in 1986 when a congenital disease was destroying his kidney. He was put on the transplant list, but didn't receive a kidney until 1995.
"I was on the transplant list for three years, I had to go through some difficult times health-wise, but you have to hang in there," he said. "Everything is good now, and the recovery was real quick."
However, in April 2008 while having blood work done to check on his kidneys, abnormalities in the results revealed he had Caroli's disease, which affects the liver's bile ducts. Preparations were made to have a portion of his daughter's liver donated, but in June he became seriously ill.
He was given priority on the transplant list, and had to implement his own IVs to fight off fevers and other symptoms until the transplant came through.
"There is no cure for (Caroli's), you can only have a transplant," he said. "If I wouldn't have got it, there was a pretty good chance I wouldn't have made it."
Thankfully, a liver was available, and five days after the transplant he was back home and resumed his work as a regional manager of a healthcare facilities service company.
Having been a recipient twice in his lifetime, Champine said he has recognized the need for people to sign up as a donor.
"I never thought I'd wake up and need another one, you never know when it'll happen to you, or your son, daughter or someone else," he said. "You don't really think about it until it happens to someone close to you, and then you wish people would do it more."
According to Gift of Life Michigan, in 2009 there were 862 transplants that saved hundreds of lives. Thus far there have been 189 transplants in 2010, but there are 2,936 Michigan patients waiting for transplants as of April 1.
The organs needed the most are kidneys, making up 81 percent of those awaiting a transplant. The next are livers, with 322 patients waiting for one.
Of the state's 10 million residents, roughly 1.8 million (about 18 percent) are registered as a donor. To give that number a boost, the Secretary of State launched a campaign with organ recovery groups this month as part of Donate Life Month.
"In Michigan, about 3,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving transplant," said Richard Pietroski, executive director of Gift of Life Michigan in a press release. "These are our family, friends and neighbors. We can help them by getting as many names as possible on the registry."
The organs that are donated go beyond kidneys and hearts. The Michigan Eye-Bank also recovers, evaluates and distributes corneas for transplantation in an effort to restore sight to patients.
Gift of Life Michigan has addressed some of the common myths about organ donation that may cause people to shy away. For instance, neither organ or tissue donations interfere with open casket memorials, and there are no costs associated with donating.
The number one myth is that doctors won't work as hard to save a life if they know someone is a donor. By law, the medical team treating someone must be separate from the transplant team.
"I think anybody who is contemplating it should talk to somebody who either decided to be a donor or is a recipient, to help them understand the real reason behind being a donor," said Champine.
Registration no longer requires residents to fill out the back of their driver's license, and instead places a heart sticker on the front of the license.
Residents interested in signing up can do so at any Secretary of State office, or can avoid the lines and register on-line at www.michigan.gov/sos or www.giftoflifemichigan.org.
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