Organ donations, like abortion and other bioethical matters, come with few one-size-fits-all-answers. But if House Bills 4362-4 pass, Michiganders’ tax forms will ask the question.

We will be the first state to do so in this way, according to Bridge Michigan reporting.

Already, Michigan drivers are asked about organ donation when we renew or receive our licenses. Gift of Life Michigan told Bridge that 95% of new donor registrations take place at the Secretary of State office.

Our position on the matter is one of cautionary support, underpinned by an ethos that reaches beyond this particular issue: Government involvement in advocacy needs to come with oversight, as advocacy groups tend to push forth their most compelling narrative.

That is what advocacy groups do — but we hold our government to higher standards of transparency.

Organ donation has many wonderful qualities, including the potential to save the lives of thousands of people waiting for transplants.

According to michigan.gov, one person can donate up to eight live-saving organs, plus tissues that can improve the lives of up to 75 people. Organs that can be donated include: the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, intestines and pancreas. Tissues include: corneas, bone, tendons, skin, heart valves, veins and nerves.

Having the “did our loved one want to donate?” question pre-answered on state forms also can simplify the family conversation in a crisis moment.

But decisions about donations should be grounded in cold-hearted facts, rather than tear-jerkers, as while the U.S. has a law restricting profiting from organ donations — the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1984 — organ procurement organizations also have an active government lobby.

A 2020 Project on Government Oversight report brought together a number of investigations, including one from Kaiser Health News that found 500 organs were lost or damaged in transit in recent years.

A United Network for Organ Sharing statement blamed delayed commercial flights. A Los Angeles Times investigation flagged the lack of financial disclosure for an 80% rate of relationships between nonprofit procurement organizations sending materials for fees to tissue processors and distributors, many for-profit.

The POGO report also cited organ procurement CEO salaries range between $450,000 and $900,000.

There’s no question the need is out there: UNOS database finds 2,500 Michiganders now on waiting lists, primarily awaiting kidneys, livers and hearts.

As these transplant surgeries become refined and more common — 42,800 transplants in the U.S. were performed in 2022, a record-setter trending up — many of us have organ transplant stories that are close to our hearts. However, we also know heartbroken families in crisis aren’t asking the tough questions about where donated organs end up.

If Michigan wants to step further into advocacy, it needs to provide the oversight to get the answers.

— Traverse City Record-Eagle