Michigan teens skip organ donor signups. Lansing hopes to change that

Michigan organ donation advocates pinpoint teen education as a key to increasing organ donor rolls
Bills to educate teens and the public about organ donation are currently under consideration in Lansing
Other Midwest states mandate organ donation education

In Michigan, first-time teenage drivers are less likely to sign up to be organ donors than adults. Now, lawmakers in Lansing are working to address the deficit by expanding education on the donor registry in high schools.

While Michigan organ donor registrations have jumped in recent years, the state’s 58% registration rate trails the national rate of 63%, according to available data.

Among the reasons: Young people are holding back Michigan’s registration numbers.

About 35% of new teenage drivers sign up to become organ donors in Michigan, according to Patrick Wells-O’Brien, vice president of communications and external relations at Gift of Life Michigan, a nonprofit that operates the state’s federally designated organ and tissue recovery program.

In some states, more than 50% of new drivers sign up, he said.

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As of June 8, there were 2,571 people in Michigan waiting for organ transplants, with the majority waiting on a kidney. In 2025, 93 Michiganders died before they could receive transplants.

Michigan teenagers are increasingly less likely to have a driver license — 56% of eligible teenagers had a license in 2021 compared to 69% in 2003. This means they are less likely to become organ donors, as signing up for a license is the primary way Michiganders are asked to register.

A bill sponsored by state Rep. Tom Kunse, R-Clare, would recommend but not mandate that public schools spend a class period teaching students about organ donation. The class would be offered before the end of 9th grade, at a time when many students are taking their first driver ed classes.

“I hope we can provide all Michigan students with the opportunity to learn about organ donation and the donor registry to make an informed choice about whether to register as an organ donor,” Kunse said.

Other Midwest states including Ohio and Indiana require similar education on the donor registry. This education combats misconceptions about organ donation, like that doctors work less hard to save people they know are organ donors.

“It’s really a no-brainer,” Wells-O’Brien said. “It doesn’t cost the state of Michigan anything, it doesn’t cost individuals anything and it will save lives.”

After a class, 72% of students were willing to consider registering as organ donors, according to a 2025 study.

Other bills proposed in the Michigan Legislature would allow physician offices and urgent care centers to distribute data on organ donation and incentivize companies to offer paid leave to employees who donate organs.

The legislation would be the latest attempt to boost organ donations in Michigan. The state had 4,456,578 registered donors as of June 1, up from 3,788,004 in 2021, according to the Michigan Department of State.

A 2023 law began allowing people to sign up for the organ donor registry on their state income tax forms, prompting more than 50,000 previously unregistered Michiganders to become organ donors.

That helped stave off post-pandemic declines when more people began renewing licenses online. People are more likely to join the donor registry if they are asked by a person — online, it’s easy to skip over a box on a form, according to Wells-O’Brien.

Additionally, Michigan in 2024 passed a law providing up to $10,000 in tax credits to live organ donors.

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