Kanu Virani

Saginaw County Medical Examiner Dr. Kanu Virani testifies about Elijah Dillard's injuries during the April 9, 2014, preliminary hearing for Aki C. Dillard in front of Saginaw County District Judge Terry L. Clark.

(Jeff Schrier | MLive.com)

SAGINAW, MI — The medical examiner who performs autopsies for Saginaw County believes Gift of Life Michigan is too aggressive in pursuing organs for donation, and it's making it difficult for him to do his job.

“They do not want to take no for an answer anymore, and that’s where the problem comes in," said Dr. Kanu Virani. "I think they want me out of the way so they can take any body for organ donations.”

Communications Director for Gift of Life Michigan Tim Makinen said Gift of Life has no vendetta against Virani or any other medical examiner.

Yet Gift of Life Michigan now is suing Virani in Saginaw County Circuit Court for the way he handled the body of 6-year-old Elijah Dillard, whose parents are charged in connection with the boy's death.

, Ann Arbor attorney Thomas Bourque claims Virani violated state law that required him to perform an autopsy on Elijah "in a timely manner" that permitted his organs, tissues and eyes to remain viable for transplant.

"It's not a question of whether we want a (criminal) investigation or do we want a donation," Makinen said. "The law allows for both to happen."

Virani said Tuesday, April 22, that he usually gives Gift of Life authorization to get organs, but this case was different.

“Police told me the boy was beaten. With this case, I did not know what organs were injured in him," Virani said. "So (it's) important for me to examine the whole body.”

Prosecutors allege the boy's father, Aki C. Dillard, inflicted the injuries on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27 at the family's home at 1812 Ames in Saginaw. Dillard is facing a murder charge.

According to Gift of Life's lawsuit, Hurley personnel on Feb. 28 alerted Gift of Life that Elijah was a potential organ donor. A Gift of Life official went to the hospital to discuss possible organ donation with Mio Campbell, Elijah’s mother.

Elijah died from his injuries on March 1, but remained on ventilator support pending organ donation.

Campbell signed her permission to donate her son's organs. Saginaw police investigating the circumstances of Elijah's death objected to the donation.

“They (Saginaw police detectives) asked if I can stop the Gift of Life, and I said I don’t have the power to do that,” Virani said. “They went to the courts and got the judge to order it.”

According to the lawsuit, at about 6 p.m., Saginaw Police Detective Ryan Oberle appeared at Hurley with a court order signed by District Court Judge Randall M. Jurrens. The order prohibited organ removal from the child’s body until completion of an autopsy. The order also voided any donation forms signed by Campbell since she was now charged with child abuse.

“Police asked me if (Gift of Life) could get the organs before the autopsy,” Virani said. “I told them that if nothing is left in the body, how do I do an autopsy?”

Gift of Life Michigan Chief Executive Officer Richard Pietroski told The Saginaw News his organization’s mission is not to stand in the way of justice.

“But people die every day from lack of a transplant,” Pietroski said. “There is a process where authorization is given according to state law…it was followed. The parents gave authorization.”

Virani believes a state law known as the Kyle Ray Horning's Law weakened the power he has over performing his job.

“The old way was that medical examiner had all the power over the body,” Virani said, “To perform the examination, autopsy and anything that was part of the evidence to present in the court."

Virani provided an example that, if a husband kills his wife, the husband has power to donate her organs and deny an autopsy, thereby destroying evidence.

“In those circumstances the medical examiner can overpower the husband’s decision and order an autopsy,” Virani said. “In this case, the mother gave authorization to donate organs, and that could’ve destroyed the evidence."

Makinen said Virani could have taken photos and/or a biopsy to help with his examination. A biopsy is when the examiner takes a small specimen of organ or tissue to run tests, he said.

"An organ donation does not interfere with an autopsy," Makinen said. "The medical examiner is invited into organ recovery and can take pictures and do whatever they need to do to complete their investigation.

"In this case, organ donation was prevented. Once they took the body and removed it from the ventilator, the organs were no longer viable."

Virani said he has been cooperative with Gift of Life throughout the years, but, in this case, he needed to examine the entire body.

“In the last 20 years, I have given at least more than 100 authorizations,” he said. “I have denied only a handful of cases. Very rarely. I can count on one hand."

Makinen said Elijah's case was unfortunate for all involved.

"It's an absolute tragedy for this child, and we want justice for whoever did this to this boy," Makinen said. "But we have over 3,300 people in Michigan waiting for a transplant, and there are a lot of children on that list."

Saginaw County also is named as a defendant in the complaint. Since Virani is a contractual employee of the county, he has to pay his own legal costs, he said.

Bob Johnson is a public safety reporter for MLive/The Saginaw News. Contact him at 989-395-3295, by email at

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