of their loved one's organs through the local organ procurement
organization (OPO) that was involved in the donation. Transplant
recipients can also initiate contact with their donor's family by
inquiring at the transplant center where the surgery was performed,
which would then forward the letter to the OPO, which would
forward it in turn to the donor's family (if the family wishes to
receive communications). To protect the confidentiality of both the
donor's family and the transplant recipients, anonymity is
maintained unless both sides decide that they would like to know
each other. In that event, written communication or a face-to-face
meeting can be arranged.
The National Donor Family Council has developed guidelines for
these communications. You can read them at
http://www.kidney.org/recips/donor/suggid.cfm.
There are also opportunities for donor families to meet transplant
recipients (and vice versa) who are not actually linked by a
particular donation. For example, many donor families and
recipients attend the U.S. Transplant Games, where they can meet
and celebrate the success of transplantation as recipients participate
in a wide range of sporting events. This kind of interaction can be
helpful for those donor families (or recipients) who would like
contact with their recipients (or donor family), but for whom it
hasn't worked out, for whatever reason. Sometimes just seeing so
many healthy transplant recipients in one place makes the donor's
family feel better, even if the particular recipients of their loved ones
organs are not present. And for a recipient unable to contact her
particular donor family, sometimes it helps to be able to meet and
applaud other donors' families.
