Family raises organ donation awareness
Michigan is behind the nation in numbers
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - George and Glenda Roby were pleased to hear West Michigan's first heart transplant was a success.
The operation took place at Spectrum Health's Fred and Lena Meijer Heart Center on Saturday and into Sunday.
The Cascade Township couple continues to advocate for organ donations after the death of George Roby's daughter, Kerry Hutchins, in August.
"It's heartbreaking we lost her," said Glenda, George's wife. "And the thing of it is, she fought so hard to stay alive, and then that window of opportunity just went away."
As Hutchins battled for her life, she also fought for others in the same predicament -- putting her plight on the Internet.
In a YouTube video, Hutchins talked of her inspiration.
"I have two young boys," Hutchins said from a hospital bed. "One is 4, one is 6. That inspires me. I look at that youngest one's face and I thought, 'how could I not do all I can to live to see him grow up?' "
Hutchins, who had cystic fibrosis, died at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, while waiting for a lung transplant.
"She knew for a fact that she may not make it," George Roby said. "But she realized that there were also a lot of people out there dying everyday because organs weren't available."
But efforts to get potential donors signed up on the registry is a challenge.
Michigan trails the nation when it comes to signing up for organ donations. Michigan's average is 28 percent, while the national average is 38 percent.
Michigan Gift of Life, the statewide group promoting organ donation and awareness, breaks down the number county by county. In West Michigan, most counties do a little better than the rest of the state.
Kent County has a 35% sign-up rate. Ottawa's rate is 29%.
In Muskegon County, the rate is 25%. The numbers are better to the south. Forty-two percent of Kalamazoo County residents renewing their licenses signed up for the registry. Thirty-four percent in Calhoun County sign up.
"And you know, there's no difference between the people in Michigan from the standpoint of giving than there is these other states," Roby said.
"And you know, there's no difference between the people in Michigan from the standpoint of giving than there is these other states," Roby said.
Although the Secretary of State has been very proactive promoting organ donations, clerks at branch offices don't ask people at the counter to sign up while renewing their driver's licenses, according to Gift of Life of Michigan.
"They do ask at the Department of Transportation at those others states -- whether the people want to be on a transplant list or not," Roby said.
But Michigan Secretary of State spokesman Ken Silfven said asking people to sign up at the counter would be time consuming. And the decision to donate an organ is not one many people would make while standing at a service counter.
There's also the dilemma of which causes to promote, and to what extent at Secretary of State branches.
Silfven said the office is working on alternatives, including a check-off box on tax returns.
"The other thing is to let people know that just signing the back of that driver's license isn't what you need to do," Roby said. "You need to make you wishes known."
That involves talking to family members and signing up. Its as easy as going to the Gift of Life website and filling out its online form.
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