Photos and Story by Crystal Hayduk
Members of the Material Girls (MG) and some young people home from school and college gathered in the social hall at the Chelsea First United Methodist Church on July 16 to make comfort blankets for the Michigan Donor Family Council (MDFC).
The constant low hum of chatter and the snipping of scissors were interrupted by the occasional announcement of the running total of blankets made for this year’s special project.
MDFC is based out of Plymouth, but it took only a friendly neighborhood encounter to build a Chelsea connection. Susan McCalla, who is on the MG leadership team, talks about her group to a neighbor named Danny. Danny plays golf with Walter Herndon, the chief financial officer of MDFC.
“Walt told Danny about how his group makes comfort blankets to give to the families of organ and tissue donors,” said McCalla. “Danny remembered me talking about Material Girls, so he asked if we would like to participate. I brought this opportunity to the group as a community service project. The membership agreed it was a wonderful idea.”
Herndon said typically a blanket covers the donor as they are wheeled to the operating room to harvest organs. The blanket is given to the donor’s family to keep, as a small comfort in a dark time. “It’s the last thing that touched their loved one,” said Herndon. “Families have told us the number one thing they appreciate afterward is having that blanket.”
The MDFC started the comfort blanket program in 2010 with 154 blankets, said Herndon. Now, they make an average of 1,600 blankets a year. This year, Chelsea’s MG will contribute 100 blankets to that number.
That sounds like a lot of blankets, but MDFC could use even more. The number of organ and tissue donations is rising annually. According to the Gift of Life Michigan website, there were 578 organ donors and 1,858 tissue donors statewide in 2023. Despite record-breaking donation numbers, 2,475 people were on the organ waiting list on July 1.
One deceased organ donor can save up to eight lives, while up to 75 people’s lives can be enhanced with tissue donation. “We call it the ‘last act of heroism,’” said Herndon.
Marge Del Greco, VP of MDFC and West Bloomfield resident, came to Chelsea to make blankets alongside the MG. Her personal experiences led her to be the devoted champion of the cause today. “I’m the recipient of two liver donations, both from deceased donors,” she said. “The first was in 2004, but then there were problems and I needed another one. My second one was in 2009 and things have gone well in the 15 years since. It was a tough go. I’m thankful to be alive now.”
As McCalla looked at the growing pile of comfort blankets that will soon be serving a great purpose, she said, “It only takes a conversation to make these important connections.”
Michigan Donor Family Council Mission: “Saving lives by promoting organ, eye, and tissue donation.” (Learn more here.)
Gift of Life Michigan: Learn more about organ donation here.
