Posted by Dave L. on 5/2/2002, 10:38 pm There is a lot of variation from state to state on this and even variation within the same organizations between individual coordinators. Now then, when you say transplant coordinator, are you talking about a person at the hospital or with the Organ Procurement Organization for Indiana? Most OPO's now have a donor family liason or coordinator who's job it is to work solely with the donor families and many allow the donor families to write to the recipients. Yes, there may be some anoyminity(sp?) required at first but you can always build from that initial contact if both sides are agreeable. In our case, my wife was a kidney recipient and I wrote that first thank you letter to our donor's family (She was a 15 year old girl). I had to send the letter through channels simply addressed to "Donor Family". Our OPO at that time then contacted her family and asked them if they wanted the letter. They did and wrote back to us directly. We corresponded for several months by letter, e-mail, and phone, before we decided to meet face to face. Boy, was that emotional!!!! Now, I know that actually meeting in person isn't for everyone. But I think it is safe to say that most families would like some form of contact. If this is something that you want to pursue, then by all means, GO FOR IT!!!! If you need help finding the right OPO to contact and the contact information, phone numbers, addresses, etc., I can probably get them for you if you want. Think about it anyway. Well, didn't mean to ramble. I will include the link to the webpage that Holly's mom made in Holly's memory. Take care, Dave
Link: In Memory of Holly Lea Nelson
Dear Jody:
We learned that her name was Holly and we met her wonderful loving family one year and one week after Holly's death and Lil's transplant.
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