Correspondence and Personal Contact between Donor Families and Organ Recipients: One OPO's Procedure and Experience

Abstract

This article discusses one organ procurement organization's procedure for facilitating correspondence between donor families and recipients while respecting the needs and rights of all involved. From 1992 to 1995, a total of 542 donor family and recipient correspondences were facilitated. Recipients wrote more than 80% of the letters, with the number of donor family correspondence increasing each year. Trends are discussed including the percentage of correspondence initiated by donor families and recipients, reasons for correspondence not being forwarded by the organ procurement organization, the time frame in which correspondence occurred, and the number of families who requested personal contact.