Donor Alliance encourages communication between the families of donors and transplant recipients. It is up to family members of donors to choose contact recipients or respond to communication received from the recipients.* The role of Donor Alliance in the communication process is to facilitate written correspondence and to keep the identities of donor family members and the recipient’s confidential until you both decide you are ready to communicate directly.
*A Note to Tissue Donor Families: If your loved one was a bone, soft tissue, heart valve or skin donor, unfortunately, there is no way for you to initiate communication with tissue recipients. However, if a recipient first writes to you first, you may respond.
You may or may not receive a response from your loved one’s recipients. Just as donor families are not obligated to respond to recipient letters, recipients may choose not to write back. Silence from recipients doesn’t diminish their gratitude for the gift they were given, and in no way does it lessen the lifesaving impact that your loved one had on them.
There are two ways to write to your loved one’s recipients:
- Mail a paper letter or card to: Donor Alliance, Attn: Aftercare, 200 Spruce Street, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80230.
With your correspondence, include on a separate piece of paper:
-The full name of your loved one who donated
-Your full name and relationship to your loved one
-The date of your loved one’s death - To submit a letter electronically, complete the online form below.