Donor Alliance encourages communication between the families of donors and transplant recipients. Many families find comfort in writing to the people their loved one helped, and making the decision to reach out to your loved one’s recipients is a very personal decision.* 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 donated tissues (bone, soft tissue, heart valves, veins, skin grafts), the tissue recipient(s) must write to you first. Donor Alliance is not provided with specific tissue recipient information, which means we do not have a way of sending a letter to a tissue recipient unless they reach out first.
You may or may not receive a letter from your loved one’s recipient(s), and we urge you to be prepared for either outcome. Just as donor families are not obligated to respond to recipient letters, recipients may chose 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.
To learn more about the correspondence process and things to consider, read our FAQ’s and suggestions for what to write.
There a two ways to write to your loved one’s recipients:
- Mail a paper letter or card to: Donor Alliance, Attn: Aftercare, 200 Spruce St., 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 - Submit a letter electronically by completing the form below.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Aftercare Coordinator at:
Email: familysupport@donoralliance.org
Direct: 303-370-2737
Toll free: 888-868-4747