MUSKEGON, Mich. — "She's a mother of a four-year-old boy and a six-month-old boy," said Kameka Clark, mother of Jaszmine Philips, a woman from Muskegon who remains on life support.
Clark describes her daughter as a "bundle of joy."
Philips, a type-1 diabetic, went to the Trinity Health Muskegon emergency room with a headache and was admitted to the hospital 16 hours later.
Court documents said by the time she was admitted, she did not have any brain activity due to fluid and swelling that occurred in the brain.
Although her license states she is an organ donor, her family said she had expressed multiple times that she no longer wanted to donate.
According to court documents, hospital staff told the family her name would be removed from the donor list.
On Friday, however, the family was told that Gift of Life Michigan, the designated Organ Procurement agency, would move forward with removing the organs unless ordered otherwise by a judge.
The family petitioned for a Temporary Protective Order prohibiting any further actions by the hospital or Gift of Life Michigan until a hearing is held.
The court granted that request.
On Tuesday morning, a hearing was held at the Muskegon County Probate Court.
Gift of Life Michigan's legal team stated the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Law (RUAGL) establishes that an anatomical gift can only be revoked by the donor and that the revocation must be "clear, express and objectively proven."
The judge ruled in favor of the family, not allowing Gift of Life Michigan to remove Philips' organs.
"I was overjoyed," said Clark. "I was absolutely overjoyed, like I couldn't mumble enough words to say how happy I was in that moment."
We talked to a Cooley Law School professor who cited a Michigan statute that a registered organ donor can revoke their permission if it's stated to two adults, including one not closely related to the situation.
In a statement, Gift of Life Michigan said:
Gift of Life Michigan has an obligation to honor the legal decision of a registered organ donor to save the lives of others after death, and we respect today’s court decision. Our hearts are with Jaszmine’s family, and we express our deepest sympathies for their loss.
Trinity Health Muskegon also released a statement, reading:
Trinity Health Muskegon expresses our deepest sympathies to the family involved during this difficult time. As health care providers, our role is to follow Michigan law and honor the documented wishes of the patients we serve. We also want to express our gratitude for the care teams who have acted with compassion, empathy and respect for the patient and the family. Due to privacy laws, we are unable to comment on this case and refer further questions to Gift of Life Michigan.
The family of Jaszmine Philips now looking to keep her on life support.
"Jaszmine would have gave the shirt off her back. Nothing had to be taken from her. That's how big her heart was," said Clark.
Clark also said she would speak on the phone with her daughter several times a day.
"You imagine how my heart is aching, to not be able to pick up that phone and just call her, to watch her," Clark said. "The day that she went to the hospital, the way she turned her head sideways and looked in the camera because she couldn't hold her phone, saying, 'I love you.' It's hard. It's hard."
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