Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the Senate on September 4, 2007, to amend the state vehicle code to make it conform with the uniform anatomical gift act proposed by Senate Bill 710, which would streamline the process of making an anatomical gift

The vote was 38 in favor, 0 opposed and 0 not voting

(Senate Roll Call 525 at Senate Journal 127)

Click here to view bill details.

Senator Jacobs' statement is as follows: I want to share a personal story because I hope this package of bills will help other people when they have important decisions to make. A few years ago, my mother was very, very ill in a hospital in Florida. My mom had made very expressed wishes in terms of how she wanted to handle her death. We had a DNR order and she signed a living will. My sister and I knew exactly how she wanted to be treated at the end of life. She did have a life-threatening incident. They came in with the crash carts, and because I knew what my mother wanted, it was very easy for me to say, "Don't do anything, leave, don't bring in the crash cart." Then they asked me if I wanted to donate my mother's organs, and it was not anything we had discussed before. My sister was out of town. I was the only family member there, and I had to say, even though I personally would have liked to have done that, I didn't know what my mother would have wanted. So, regretfully, I had to say, "No." My hope is that through legislation like this, more of us not only have our own living wills in order, but that we really encourage our parents to make their wishes known so that family members aren't given very, very tough decisions. So, anyways, I just wanted to share that story. I think this is very important, and I really want to thank Senators Gleason and George for being such an important part of bringing this issue to the forefront in Michigan.

Senator Gleason's statement is as follows: I rise with a personal experience. You've heard me speak on this many times, and I can assure you that you'll hear my words many more times in the future in regard to organ donation. I want to say that this is a totally bipartisan effort. We use that word haphazardly from time to time. I want to thank again Senator George. I think his uniqueness in his profession has offered a level of responsibility to this debate. I know he lives in an environment where every single day he sees the needs for organ donation, for transplants, for the gift of life. There has been a great deal of confusion, and sometimes, there has been a lot of angst against the organ donation process. Only a few years ago, we saw where there was a doctor in an affiliation out on the West Coast who was caught selling organs on the black market. We, in this chamber, a few months ago celebrated the courageous efforts by the University of Michigan transplant team who lost their lives trying to transport lifesaving organs across state lines into Wisconsin. We hear from time to time that those in other countries actually sell organs for lifesaving efforts. I think this is really important legislation because it removes a lot of the opportunities for fraud. Michigan now will be at the forefront. We've elevated debate about the necessary need for donations, but we've also added a sense of responsibility and integrity to the whole process. This is only the beginning. As Senator George mentioned earlier, the number of lives that are lost daily, it depends on the organization and who is doing the calibration for the number of lives, but some organizations say sixteen, others say eighteen lives are lost every single day waiting for lifesaving organs. I want to thank all of the Senators because now you will have an individual part, you will have a very important role today in passing this legislation. And this is a bipartisan effort. This makes Michigan much more responsible in how we procure the organs and how we save lives. I'd like to thank every member of this chamber for taking this issue to heart. We have become a much better state because of this legislation, and I thank all of those who played an integral part, those main sponsors, and those of you who added your names to sponsorship to this responsible legislation as well.