Donors & Donor Families

MEETING DONOR FAMILIES

 

In most cases a person makes the decision to be an organ donor during their lifetime and usually shares that decision with their family members. Sometimes, as in my case, organ donors pass away without having made a decision about organ donation. It is then left to the donor families to make the decision as to whether to donate the organs of their loved one. Having just lost a loved one, it is a difficult time for the family as they mourn their loss. The reason that those of us who are recipients of organ transplants consider organ donor families heroes is that during their time of grief they make the compassionate decision to donate the organs of their loved ones to save the lives of complete strangers. Most of the time they never meet the recipients of their gift, but I was one of the lucky and blessed ones to have had the opportunity to meet my donor family. Shortly after recovering from my liver transplant I wrote my donor family a letter offering my condolences for their loss and expressing my profound gratitude for saving my life through their compassionate decision to donate the organs of their loved one. I gave the letter to my transplant coordinator and asked if he would see that they get the letter, since organ recipients are not able to communicate with donor families unless the donor family consents to communication. I was pleasantly surprised when, about a year after my transplant, I received a response to my letter from my organ donor's daughter. It was a beautiful letter in which she told me about her dad and how he was the kind of person who would celebrate the fact that he was able to save a life. Then, on behalf of her family, she invited me to come and meet with the family in person. It was one of the most emotional and memorable meetings of my life. There were tears as we all embraced each other, and then sat and shared a meal together. There was no way that I could fully express the depth of my gratitude for their gift and their graciousness, but I have since let them know that they are my heroes and my efforts to advocate for increased organ donation is to not only to help to save lives, but to honor them as well as all of the organ donor families who, out of compassion, make the decision to give the gift of life, often to complete strangers.  The following is a picture of my organ donor, and another of his daughters standing with me at the Veteran's Administration Transplant Lodge in Vancouver, Washington.

 

MY ORGAN DONOR

 

MY ORGAN DONOR FAMILY