ABOUT DORRIE DILS:
Dorrie Dils was named president and CEO of Gift of Life Michigan in 2016. As the leader of the nation’s 11th-largest organ and tissue program, Dils oversees a staff of more than 400 professionals who work statewide to help fulfill the decisions of organ and tissue donors and their families. In June of 2024, Dils became the President of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations which represents 48 of the nation’s 56 organ donor programs throughout the United States. In that role, she will work on national issues that impact organ donation in the US to increase donation and save the lives of the more than 100,000 people waiting for an organ transplant.
Dils began her career as a registered nurse in a busy Level-I trauma intensive care unit in Columbus, Ohio, Grant Medical Center. She transitioned to organ donation in 1991 as a donation coordinator for Lifeline of Ohio, where she served in various capacities until eventually becoming the Chief Clinical Officer.
Dils has been active nationally, serving on the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) OPO, Thoracic and Transplant Administrators committees. She began serving on the OPTN Board of Directors in July 2024. Previously, she served as vice chair of the University of Toledo Donation and Transplant Sciences program. She is a former chair of the AOPO Ethics Committee and served as vice chair of its Advocacy Committee.
Dils was a faculty member for the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) collaborative. She served as a board member for the National Kidney Foundation of Ohio and the Multiple Sclerosis Society. In 2004, she was named by Business First as one of the top “40 under 40” and, in 2020, Dils was named a Notable Woman in Health by Crain’s Detroit Business.
Dils has her bachelor's degree in nursing from Franklin University and a master's degree in healthcare administration from Ohio University.
RESOURCES:
Gift of Life Michigan Donation Process
Gift of Life Michigan on Facebook
Gift of Life Michigan on X (Twitter)
Gift of Life Michigan on Instagram
Gift of Life Michigan on YouTube
Gift of Life Michigan on LinkedIn
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and welcome to this week's edition of Washtenaw United. I'm David Fair, and today, we're going to talk about life--the gift of life, to be specific. Picture for a moment the University of Michigan Stadium on a football Saturday. With its capacity of over 100,000 people, it amounts to a city all on its own. As we speak, there are more people than that on the waiting list for a transplant donation. In Michigan alone, more than 2,700 are on that critical life-or-death waiting list. April is National Donate Life Month, and today, we're going to raise awareness about the dire need here and just about everywhere. Our guest is Dorrie Dils, and Dorrie is President and CEO of Gift of Life Michigan. And thank you so much for making time today, Dorrie! We appreciate it!
Dorrie Dils: Oh, my pleasure!
David Fair: The numbers I gave--are those accurate as of today?
Dorrie Dils: Yes, they are. As you mentioned, over 100,000 nationally, and 2,700 actually here just in Michigan who are waiting for that life-saving transplant.
David Fair: Of those 2,700 or so in Michigan, how many will die waiting for suitable organs?
Dorrie Dils: Well, typically, about 18 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant. And here in Michigan, thankfully, it's significantly less than that. But certainly, their lives are hanging in limbo as they wait for that life-saving gift to come.
David Fair: How much of that is because no suitable match was found for a particular person? And how much because there is a perpetual shortage of available organs?
Dorrie Dils: The majority of it is because there is an ongoing shortage. Most people, given the opportunity to receive the gift, are able to accept. It's just that a gift may not come in time, an organ may not come in time. And mostly, that's because there just aren't enough organ donors in Michigan or in the United States to make an organ available for every single person who needs it.
David Fair: Unfortunately, for most organs to become available, it means someone has passed away. For those that have not made a decision, it gets left to families and close loved ones. How big a barrier is fear of mortality when it comes to people making the decision to donate?
Dorrie Dils: I think it is a barrier. We don't like to think about what might happen to us if we were to pass away, but families and individuals really do need to not just make other end-of-life decisions, like how they want their care administered or what type of funeral they may want to have, but they also should think about if something were to happen to them and they were a candidate for donation, whether they would want their organs or tissues donated. And even if they are uncomfortable with signing up in the Michigan donor registry, they should at least talk to their family about the desire they might have to help someone else, should the opportunity present.
David Fair: This is Washtenaw United on 89.1 WEMU, and today, we're talking about organ donation with Dorrie Dils. Dorrie is President and CEO of Gift of Life Michigan. Dorrie, do most people view organ donation as a matter of death, as opposed to looking at it as a manner of life?
Dorrie Dils: I think, obviously it's your perspective. If you're someone who's been touched by transplant, you very much see it as a matter of life. But sadly, most donors, when we meet donor families, it's on that tragic day when someone they love has passed away and either the individual had made the decision to be a donor or were asking their next of kin for permission. And, of course, for those families, it's very much a part of the death process. I will say, though, that donor families go on to see the fact that their loved one was able to save someone else's life as an extension of their story, and it becomes part of their grief journey that many families really are thankful for, that they have that story to share about the life-saving gift that their loved one gave.
David Fair: With that in mind and that kind of life extension, what percentage of people nationally and here in Michigan are registered organ donors?
Dorrie Dils: Registries are held by each individual state. And here in Michigan, about 58% of adults who either have a driver's license or have a state ID card are in the Michigan organ donor registry. Nationally, I think it's just a little over 50% if we look at all the states combined. But we know that when we talk to people in surveys, that 90% of people support organ donation. But for some reason, we have that gap between those who sign up in the registry and those who tell us that should something happen to them, they would want to be a donor. And that's what Gift of Life Michigan is very focused on is answering questions and addressing any myths or concerns that individuals may have that prevent them from signing up in the registry.
David Fair: I'm sure you would love to have as close to 100% of people on the registry as possible, but 100% of anything is impossible. What do you think the realistic number is at the top end?
Dorrie Dils: I think that we could likely get to 70%, and we've made a lot of progress over the last decade or so. We have certain areas of the state that have lower registration rates than other areas. We have a certain population that have lower registry rates than in other areas. And so, that's what we're very focused on is trying to get every part of Michigan and every different ethnic group or minority group up to 58%.
David Fair: So, here's a question that I'm going to ask for myself. I've been on the organ donation registry for a long time and will continue to do so, but I'm also 62 years old. And I wonder. Can I age out of being of value to anybody?
Dorrie Dils: Actually, in our world, 62 is considered very young. We see donors well into their 80s and 90s. Actually, just recently in another state, not in Michigan, there was a 100-year-old donor that was able to donate their liver. So, as we get older but live healthier and are aging differently than generations before us, organ donors get older and older and can still provide that life-saving organ transplant that somebody on the list desperately needs.
David Fair: It's never too late, right?
Dorrie Dils: Never too late. Never too late. And 62 is what we would consider a young donor.
David Fair: WEMU's Washtenaw United conversation continues with Gift of Life of Michigan President and CEO Dorrie Dils. You've touched on this, but I want to take a little deeper dive. The matter of organ donation is very personal. It doesn't get much more personal than giving away a physical part of yourself or a loved one to someone you likely have never met and may never meet. At one point, Dorrie, you were a critical care nurse. Did you get to eyewitness the kind of impact on a grieving family once that decision has been made?
Dorrie Dils: I did get to witness those families who were sad and devastated by the loss of their loved one, but watching that transition from accepting the fact that there is no further care that to be provided to their mother, their daughter, their husband, having those families understand that through their grief and tragedy, they were going to be able to prevent another family from experiencing that same type of loss was really, really impactful. And while it doesn't lessen the pain of the loss in the days or maybe even immediate weeks following the death, over time, we see our donor families really come together as a community and honor the life that their loved one lived and the life they saved through organ donation. I'm always just awestruck by the strength and courage of those families.
David Fair: Well, you provided me with some statistics I found awe-inspiring. Every organ donor has the potential to save eight lives. Tissue donation has the potential to heal and transform 75 lives. If I came to your office today and expressed hesitancy in registering to become a donor, what might you say to move me off the fence in a paragraph or so?
Dorrie Dils: Well, we really try to dig in on what the concern is. Sometimes, individuals tell us they believe they can't have a funeral if they're an organ or tissue donor, and that's not true. We work with whatever type of funeral arrangements individuals want to have or they could still have, regardless of whether a donation happens. Other times, we hear people say, "I don't want to put that little heart on my driver's because I'm afraid. If something happens to me and I show up in the emergency room, they won't take care of me in the same way." And that, too, isn't true. In fact, the nurses and doctors who would be caring for you in an emergency room, number one, do not know that your driver's license has that heart on it, and, number two, they're there to save your life. And it's only when all those efforts have been exhausted that they turn to, "Is this person a potential candidate for donation?" So, those are a couple examples of the myths that we hear, but mostly, we try to dig in with individuals about what their concerns might be and then help them understand what the facts really are around those concerns.
David Fair: Dorrie, I'd like to thank you so much for the time you've given us today and for the information you've shared!
Dorrie Dils: My pleasure! Thank you for having us!
David Fair: That is Dorrie Dils. She is President and CEO of Gift of Life Michigan, discussing the importance of organ donation as we mark National Donate Life Month. For more information, stop by our website at WEMU.org. We'll get you connected. Washtenaw United is produced in partnership with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, and you hear it every Monday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM, Ypsilanti.
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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