UPDATE (9 a.m. ET, Oct. 28, 2020) — This event has been rescheduled. Please see our news announcement for complete details.
Southeast Michigan initiative intended for replication in additional U.S. cities
ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 9, 2020 — Eversight, the Ann Arbor-based global eye bank network, and Muslim Life Planning Institute (MLPI), the national nonprofit delivering dynamic education to interdisciplinary audiences, will host an Arena™ event at Wayne State University on April 4 with the goal of improving healthcare communication and outreach about organ, eye and tissue donation among Muslim communities.
Muslim individuals and families, healthcare professionals and other providers of services to Muslim communities in southeast Michigan and beyond are encouraged to join the conversation exploring anatomical donation and transplantation in the context of Islam.
The free program takes place 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, April 4 at the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Building, 259 Mack Ave., Detroit, MI 48202. Register by March 27 at arena.eventbrite.com.
The event, part of an ongoing documentary film in development, will be recorded for broadcast to other communities as part of MLPI’s “Building Healthy Communities Through Vision” initiative to co-create sustainable solutions to critical challenges in organ, eye and tissue donation.
The number of people registered as organ, eye and tissue donors in Wayne County is less than elsewhere in the state, according to Gift of Life Michigan, but the need for organ transplants is relatively high. Wayne County is the state’s most populous and most diverse county; home to Michigan’s and the nation’s largest Arab American population, among which religious views can significantly affect the decision to become a life-restoring donor.
Eversight and MLPI’s “Building Healthy Communities Through Vision: Organ, Eye & Tissue Donation and Transplantation in the Muslim Community” seeks to address the gap among Muslims seeking understanding of donation and transplantation in accordance with their faith.
The project has been funded by The DMC Foundation, a supporting organization of the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, that is dedicated to promoting the wellbeing of people in the metropolitan Detroit area through the support of health-related research, education and community benefit activities.
Additional funding and support are provided through Gift of Life Foundation. The Foundation supports the mission of Gift of Life Michigan, the federally designated organ procurement organization that collaborates with Eversight to provide all services necessary for organ, eye and tissue donation in Michigan. The Gift of Life Foundation promotes donation and transplantation by funding public and professional education.
About Eversight
Eversight is a nonprofit organization with a mission to restore sight and prevent blindness through the healing power of donation, transplantation and research. The Eversight network is responsible for recovering, evaluating and providing human eye tissue for transplantation; supporting research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions; promoting donation awareness through public and professional education; and providing humanitarian aid to people around the world in need of corneal transplantation. Operating in Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and South Korea, Eversight works in collaboration with surgeons, researchers, academic medical centers and eye banks across the United States and abroad. For more information, visit eversightvision.org.
About Muslim Life Planning Institute
Muslim Life Planning Institute (MLPI) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to establish pathways to lifelong learning and healthy communities at the local, national and global levels. MLPI was created to assist in educating and increasing American Muslim awareness of Islamic guidance related to organ and tissue donation, and to address other bioethics and critical end-of-life issues impacting Muslims. MLPI’s focus gradually expanded to concern for the total life journey of Muslims globally. MLPI educates and leads critical and profound conversations addressing the physical, mental, spiritual and financial well-being of humanity through its initiatives, services and partnerships. For more information, visit mlpi.life.
Media Contact
Mackenzie Mohr
Marketing & Communications Specialist
O: (734) 780-2673
