| July 15, 2010 | Media contact: Jenna Frye E-mail: jennafry@umich.edu Phone: 734-764-2220 |
Tigers fans can register to be organ donors, win autographed jerseys
14-year-old U-M transplant recipient to throw first pitch at Comerica Park on July 19
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WRITTEN BY the Donate Life Coalition of Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Exclusive Brandon Inge giveaways await fans Monday as the Donate Life Coalition of Michigan partners with the Detroit Tigers at the annual Tiger Donor Awareness Game on Monday, July 19 at Comerica Park.
Fans attending the matchup against the Texas Rangers can register as organ donors near gates A and B. Up to 5,000 special-edition Brandon Inge baseball cards will be distributed to both new donors and previously registered donors who show the red heart emblems on their drivers’ licenses or state ID cards.
Two fans who join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry during the game will receive Tigers jerseys signed by Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge. Names will be drawn during the seventh-inning stretch.
Juan Lopez, the University of Michigan’s first combined heart and liver transplant recipient, will throw the first pitch. The Lake Orion student, who has a disorder that hampers his ability to metabolize cholesterol, underwent a 13-hour surgery just a few months ago.
In addition, Inge will appear (at about 6:40 p.m.) at a pre-game ceremony to honor the more than 800 supporters of organ and tissue donation in the stands. The Tigers, along with the star-fielder will recognize Donate Life Coalition of Michigan volunteers, transplant recipients and family members of donors.
The honorees invited on the field for the pregame festivities include Scott Dixon of White Lake; Tara Hamilton of Wakefield; Cara Manual of Sterling Heights; Tommy Schomaker of Rochester Hills; Dwight Sachau of Hartland; Melody Sienkowski of Sterling Heights; Susan Stariha of Grand Rapids; Stacy and son Aidan Troxtel of Livonia, as well as Juan Lopez of Lake Orion.
Lopez is one of nearly 400 patients to receive a life-saving organ transplant in Michigan so far this year. The teen’s surgeons at the University of Michigan - John Magee, M.D. and Jennifer Hirsch, M.D. - say he deserves to be honored for his determination to get better.
“He’s been through a whole lot and I think it’s so nice for someone to give back to him and give him a special moment,” said Hirsch, Lopez’s hear surgeon.
“I think it is truly amazing that someone can come back from a major operation this fast,” said Magee, Lopez’s liver surgeon.
Upon performing Michigan’s first organ transplant in 1964, experts at the University of Michigan have attended to more than 8,100 transplant patients. The University of Michigan Transplant Center provides clinical care, fosters research and advises on public policy regarding organ disease and transplantation.
The Donate Life Coalition of Michigan, an affiliate of Donate Life America, raises awareness about organ and tissue donation through education and outreach activities like this one. The Coalition works closely with Gift of Life Michigan, the state’s only federally designated organ and tissue recovery organization.
Nearly 3,000 Michigan residents are waiting today for life-saving organ transplants. Donation advocates are trying to add 1 million names to the Donor Registry this year to help save more lives.
Tickets are still available for purchase through the Detroit Tigers at the Box Office, by calling 866-66-TIGER or, visiting www.tigers.com
To join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, visit www.giftoflifemichigan.org or call 800-482-4881.
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