CMU and Gift of Life Michigan form first-in-the-nation partnership

Beginning this April, employees at Central Michigan University will see a new option in their benefits enrollment system: Signing up to become a registered organ donor.

Together with Gift of Life Michigan, CMU is establishing a first-of-its-kind opportunity for members of the university community. CMU is the first employer in Michigan and the first university in the United States to offer its employees the option to register to become organ donors.

“Central Michigan University is redefining what leadership looks like in public health and community engagement,” said Gift of Life President and CEO Dorrie Dils. “CMU is creating another meaningful opportunity for Michiganders to say ‘yes.’ And the easier we make it to register, the more lives we can save.”

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, more than 49,000 organ transplants were performed in 2025, yet the need for donations far outpaces the available supply. Dils said more than 2,700 people in Michigan are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant – that number grows exponentially at the national level.

“The decision to use an existing administrative process to provide an easy way for faculty and staff to truly change lives was in perfect alignment with our mission, values and strategic goals,” said CMU President Neil MacKinnon. “As a university community, we are always looking for new ways to serve people and communities. We are deeply proud to be the first institution of higher education to offer this option.”

In recognition of its efforts to raise awareness about organ donation, CMU has been named Gift of Life Michigan’s Community Partner of the Year. The award will be presented to CMU at the 2026 Champions Gala in May.

Stories close to home

The decision to become an organ donor is deeply personal, and the “gift of life” deeply touches the lives of those who donate, those who receive, and the families of both. Within the CMU community, there are moving stories from each side. The following stories were shared by CMU students and employees with the hope that they might inspire others to register as donors.

A chance to see beauty in the world

Hannah Martin, associate director of alumni relations, remembers the day her mom, Claudia, took her to the Secretary of State’s office to get her driver’s license. 

“I knew my mom was an organ donor before that, but we hadn’t really talked about why,” Martin said. “When she encouraged me to sign up, she told me she thought organ donation was a really beautiful gift. She liked the idea that someone could live a happier life by receiving a part of her that she wasn’t using anymore.”

When Claudia unexpectedly passed away in April 2017, she donated her organs, tissue and corneas. Hannah said the family didn’t really think much about it for the next few months as they managed their grief.

“And then I received a letter from Gift of Life about my mother’s donation,” she said. “I learned that someone who had been nearly blind received my mother’s corneas and was given the gift of sight. It was deeply moving.”

Martin said that her mother had faced numerous challenges in life but always had a bright outlook and found silver linings in difficult situations. That ability to see the beauty in everything was something that friends and family brought up regularly during her mother’s celebration of life ceremony, she said.

“My mother lived her life with such a positive attitude. Knowing that someone else is seeing all the beauty in the world through my mother’s eyes is truly a gift,” Martin said.

According to Gift of Life Michigan, Claudia Martin’s choice to donate also included tissue that was used in more than 228 graft procedures across the country.

Martin said the advancements in medicine mean that the simple act of signing up to become an organ donor can have a tremendous impact on others.

“My mother and I were so close — she was truly my best friend — and her gift inspired me,” Martin said. “It is a gift to know that I will someday help someone else live a fuller, more meaningful life by contributing something I no longer need.” 

An extra two decades with dad

In his elementary school years, Brian Roberts began to realize his childhood wasn’t totally normal. From day to day, he would be dropped off at and picked up from school by either his parents or family friends. Three to four nights per week, he slept at one of those friends’ homes because his parents were traveling two hours to and from a hospital for his father’s four-hour dialysis treatments. Later, his living room was dominated by a giant home dialysis machine that he remembers hand-cranking during power outages. 

Roberts, CMU’s manager of technology training and communication within the Office of Information Technology, said his dad, Merlin, had a rare genetic disorder called Alport syndrome. Alport’s causes serious damage to the kidneys and can affect vision and hearing.   

“Both of my father’s brothers had Alport’s, and both died before the age of 30,” Roberts said. “As a kid, I knew my dad could have been dead. I knew our life was not normal, but it was our normal.” 

In March 1985, at 44 years old, Roberts’ father received a cadaver-donated kidney, and everything changed. 

“Life was so different. We had the freedom to do things, like go on vacation,” Roberts said. “My dad was able to just be my dad. I cherish memories of simple things like blowing snow and mowing the lawn for neighbors and going to ball games.”

With the transplant, Merlin Roberts gained an additional 22 years with his family, and Brian is beyond thankful for that extra time. He is a registered organ donor, with the hope that he, too, can someday give someone else that extra time with family.  

“It’s called the Gift of Life because that is what you are doing – you are giving someone else the chance to keep living,” Roberts said. “And it’s not just that one person. It is everyone who loves them; it impacts everyone around them.” 

The hope of another tomorrow

When she was just twelve years old, Erika Thomas’s father passed away while waiting for a heart transplant.

“Although I didn’t fully understand it at the time, I knew that my father’s life could have been saved if there had been a heart available,” Thomas said. “If more people had been on the donor list, perhaps my father would still be alive.”

As she moved into high school, Thomas and her family began to get involved with Gift of Life Michigan, beginning with a trip to Donate Life Night at the John Ball Zoo.

“From there, my understanding and involvement grew,” Thomas said. “I wanted to help others understand how organs and tissues could be donated and used, and to combat the misinformation people have heard about the donation process.”

Thomas volunteered to tell her family’s story during Gift of Life presentations and participated in fundraising events; she also helped to bring the organization’s program, All of Us, to her high school. 

Now a second-year student at CMU, Thomas has established a Gift of Life registered student organization on campus. She and the RSO members participated in MainStage to tell their peers about organ donation. The group is planning a blanket-making event and a rock painting event to raise awareness later this year.

“We are never promised tomorrow. Anything could happen to me at any moment, and knowing that my organs could save another life gives me a sense of hope – knowing that even if I’m not here, I could live on in somebody else,” Thomas said.

Thomas will be recognized for her advocacy work and volunteerism at the Gift of Life Michigan Champions Gala in May. She has been named the organization’s “Honoring Life Through Donation” champion.

“Please help us spread the word. If you’re already registered to donate, tell others,” Thomas said. “There are people who could live another day if you make the selfless gift of joining the registry.”

The gift of more time with family

Christine Tanzini, director of clinical services for CMU’s university health clinics in Foust Hall, was the lucky recipient of a donor’s Gift of Life.

About ten years ago, Tanzini was teaching her youngest child to ski when a serious accident left her with a destroyed knee.

“It was the trifecta – a torn meniscus, torn ACL and torn MCL,” Tanzini said. “I have four children, and we are an active family.” 

Her doctor let her know that they could replace her torn ACL with donated tissue, something she said she hadn’t known was possible. The surgery was a success, and Tanzini was told that her new knee was even stronger – and sturdier – than ever before.

Christine contacted Gift of Life to ask if her donor’s family would be interested in exchanging messages. Through their letter, she learned that her donor had been active in sports their entire life. The family was pleased to know that their loved one’s gift had given her the ability to remain active with her kids.

“Their response was so heartwarming. It felt like a double blessing,” she said. “It was a blessing to receive the donation, and a blessing to share a glimpse into how their loved one’s gift was making a difference in my life.”

Tanzini immediately checked to be sure she was registered as an organ donor.

“This isn’t something we really think about all that often, but it’s an important decision to make,” she said. “For some people who need vital organ transplants to survive, this could be a life-or-death matter. Knowing that I could give someone a new lease on life was a powerful motivation to get registered.”

Other ways to Donate Life

Although CMU’s employee registration portal is only open to benefits-eligible faculty and staff, students and community members interested in participating can also help.

Enrolled students can join CMU’s Gift of Life Registered Student Organization via the CMU Engage portal. The organization plans to hold several volunteer and registration events in the year ahead.

CMU employees and students who are Michigan residents can register to become a donor at any time online on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry Page. Students, alumni and employees living outside of Michigan can visit the National Donate Life Registry webpage to sign up. 

Open Enrollment begins soon

CMU employees will receive notification about the open enrollment period, which includes the Gift of Life registration, in mid-April. Visit CMU’s Open Enrollment webpage for information about the 2026-27 process.