When Mike Greiner had a kidney and pancreas transplant, it saved his life and made him decide to change the way he lived.
Now Greiner, his wife and two children are traveling around the country challenging people in all 50 states to sign up to be organ donors. Alabama is state No. 37, and on Tuesday they set up a table in the atrium at UAB Hospital to try to rally attention to the cause.
About 31 percent of adults in Alabama are on the donation list, said Ann Rayburn, senior manager of professional education of the Alabama Organ Center. According to the center, more than 110,000 people were waiting for donated organs nationwide at the end of last month, including about 3,500 in Alabama.
In each state, the Greiners have chosen a day -- today's Alabama's -- for the most people to register; states are then ranked on their Web site according to how many people have signed up on that day. But they also hope their trip, which they expect to take about a year, will encourage people to donate even if they sign up another time.
"There isn't a single person that shouldn't sign up," Greiner said.
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