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March 26, 2024 in About Donation, Our Experts

How Does LifeSource Support Donor Families?

It is our privilege to walk alongside families at the time of donation and to offer support and resources in the months and years that follow through our Donor Family Aftercare Program.

Multiple generations of a family stand and kneel in front of the memorial wall in the LifeSource Donor Garden.

The LifeSource Donor Family Aftercare Program is centered around the care and support of donor families as they navigate their grief journey, providing opportunities to connect, honor and remember. Donor Family Advocates are the heart and soul of the program, working with families to provide donation outcomes and answer questions about a loved one’s donation, facilitate the correspondence process with recipients, lend a listening ear, and coordinate annual remembrance events and opportunities. Some of these events and opportunities include: 

  • Donor Family Gatherings are LifeSource’s signature event for donor families. These annual remembrance events are an opportunity for donor families to gather with one another and share memories and tributes of their loved ones who gave the gift of life through organ, eye and tissue donation.  
  • The LifeSource Healing Garden serves as a peaceful and reflective gathering space, located at the LifeSource Headquarters along the beautiful Mississippi River. The Healing Garden is accessible 24/7 and features a Memorial Wall on which families can choose to have their loved one’s name inscribed in recognition of their selfless gift of donation.  
  • The Donor Family Quilt is a patchwork of memories, lovingly created by donor family members and displayed at LifeSource Donor Family events and on our website. 
  • The Gallery of Hope offers families the opportunity to create an online tribute to their loved one by sharing their story, the legacy of their gifts, and the message of donation through photos and words. 
  • LifeSource Donor Family Facebook Group is a private Facebook group providing a forum for LifeSource Donor Families to connect with and support one another along their grief journey. 
  • What’s Your Grief – LifeSource has partnered with What’s Your Grief to provide an online learning space for donor families to explore, learn and connect around topics of grief. 
  • Donor Family Workshops – Our Donor Family Aftercare Team hosts periodic workshops for donor families focusing on topics that promote healing, sharing and connecting. 

Organ, eye and tissue donation is a selfless gift that provides life, hope and healing. It is through the generosity of donors and their families that lives are saved and legacies are created. 

To learn more about LifeSource’s Donor Family Resources, please visit: https://www.life-source.org/donor-families/