Aftercare: Resources for Donor Families

(Part One of Three in our “Aftercare” Series)

Donor family members are the heart and soul of our mission at Donor Alliance. Through their cooperation and support during one of the most tragic times in their lives, donor families play a vital role in saving lives through organ, eye and tissue donation.

“The best part of my job is meeting and working with families who, on their worst day, chose to help another person,” said Joyleen Helcoski, Aftercare Coordinator at Donor Alliance.

Donor Alliance’s Aftercare department cares for donor families after the donation process, fostering continued communication and offering up useful resources along the way.

To kick off our “Aftercare” series, we’re diving into the resources available for donor families.

Tools and Resources for Donor Families

From events to online tools, we provide ongoing support for donor families once the donation process is complete. It’s important to note that these resources listed below are available for all families at any time on our donor family resources page.

• Memorial Event: the Donor Family Tribute is an event for Donor Alliance donor families to gather and honor the lives and legacies of their loved ones who were donors.
• Donor Family Quilt Project: the Rocky Mountain Threads of Life quilts are another way for donor families to remember their loved one who gave the gift of life. Donor Alliance donor families can create a quilt square in honor of their loved one, that will be sewn into a larger quilt and displayed at various events and gatherings across Colorado and Wyoming. To download a quilt square template and release form, click here.
• *NEW* Private Facebook Group: the goal of this new Facebook group is to have a place for donor family members to connect with and support one another along their grief journey. All Donor Alliance donor families are encouraged to join, whether it’s to participate in discussion or to simply quietly follow along. Donor Alliance donor family members can request to join the donor family Facebook group, here.
• Grief Resources: Donor Alliance can help connect donor families with grief support resources in their community, including support groups, as well as literature about loss and grief. Grief resources can be requested anytime, here.

For the next few posts in our “Aftercare” series, we’re breaking down how donor families and recipients can connect and we’re answering some of your common Aftercare questions.
Read Part Two: Connecting Donor Families and Recipients, here.

For more information and aftercare resources, please visit the donor family resources page. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to sign up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor any time on our websites: DonateLifeColorado.org or DonateLifeWyoming.org.