Published: April 17, 2026
LANSING, Mich. - A tree that holds the weight of loss and the power of life grew heavier and brighter today.
Gift of Life Michigan added 26 names to the Donor Memorial Tree at UM Health-Sparrow Lansing, including Tyler Coffey, a 22-year-old from Lansing whose decision to register as an organ donor saved four lives.
Families stood shoulder to shoulder in the hospital lobby in front of the tree. Some held hands. Others pressed hands against the surface where new names now shine.
During the ceremony, speakers passed out white roses to donor’s loved ones. Each rose symbolized the gift that the 26 donors gave to their community, giving life, hope and the chance for families to keep loving someone else’s loved one.
“26 people said yes. Because of them, many people have another chance,” said Christine Wilson, Department Manager of the Neuro-Trauma Intensive Care Unit at UM Health-Sparrow Lansing.
“It’s amazing to know he continues to help people,” said Kelly Coffey, Tyler’s mother. “That’s the most incredible thing to me, that he saved other people. Whenever I say that he was an organ donor, people say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s Tyler.’ It doesn’t surprise anyone at all that given the option, he would choose that.”
Tyler was an Eagle Scout, a multi-sport athlete, a welder, a coach and a volunteer. He was 20 days from marrying his fiancé when a drunk driver took his life. But hours after he left this world, his heart was already keeping someone else alive. Both of his kidneys and his liver also gave strangers a future they were running out of time to have.
“He touched so many lives in such a short time,” Coffey said. “He lived life to the fullest. If he was scared, he still took a chance. He did more during his short time on this earth than many do in a lifetime.”
Alongside Tyler’s name, 25 other organ donors were honored. Each represented a family’s shattered goodbye and a recipient’s second chance. Together, the 26 names stand as a permanent reminder that even in unbearable loss, lives continue.
The Donor Memorial Tree at UM Health-Sparrow Lansing is part of an ongoing partnership with Gift of Life Michigan, the state’s federally designated organ and tissue recovery organization. More than 2,700 people in Michigan are currently waiting for a life-saving transplant.
To learn about how you can help your community, visit UofMHealthSparrow.org.
Donor memorial tree at UM Health-Sparrow Lansing
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University of Michigan Health-Sparrow is Mid-Michigan’s premier health care organization and includes hospitals in Lansing, Carson City, Charlotte, Ionia and St. Johns, as well as UM Health-Sparrow Specialty Hospital, Care Network, the Michigan Athletic Club, and AL!VE. UM Health-Sparrow is part of University of Michigan Health. Through the dedication of our 10,000 team members, UM Health-Sparrow pursues a vision to be nationally recognized as a leader in quality and patient experience. For more information, visit UofMHealthSparrow.org.