The Gift of Life Michigan is a nonprofit, independent, Medicare-certified corporation that administers organ and tissue donation programs. Incorporated in 1971, the corporation manages a central coordination network for the sharing of kidneys. It is an affiliate of the Gift of Life Foundation. With a staff of more than 165 employees, the Gift of Life Michigan assists in various phases of donation procedures, including the recipient allocation, identification and surgical removal of organs. The corporation provides 24-hour services for the screening and evaluation of donors. In addition, its histocompatibility laboratory is responsible for serology testing, tissue typing and the cross matching of organ recipients.