LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Kevin Daley’s legislation to promote organ donation by allowing doctors to provide patients with information about registering to become organ donors has been signed into law.

“Although my son Thomas passed away over 15 years ago, he lives on in the lives of others due to the gift of organ donation. Since then, I have been passionate about encouraging lifesaving and life-changing organ donations,” said Daley, R-Lum. “This new law can help other families who face the tragic death of a loved one with the comfort of knowing the gift of donated organs and tissues can give others and their families the gift of life.”

Senate Bill 205 allows physicians to inquire about patients’ interest in becoming a bone marrow donor or organ and tissue donor and subsequently provide information about how to register.

“This reform will provide another way for people to have a conversation about becoming a lifesaving organ donor,” Daley said. “We previously enacted legislation giving folks an opportunity to register as an organ donor when they get or renew a driver’s license or state ID card at a Secretary of State branch office. But with more people renewing these items online, there are fewer face-to-face discussions about the state’s organ donor registry.”

Gift of Life Michigan reports that 131 lives are saved each day by organ transplants throughout the United States. More than 9,000 patients in Michigan have received a lifesaving organ transplant in the past 10 years.

Visit Michigan.gov/SOS/All-Services/Organ-Donor-Registry to learn more or register as an organ donor.

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