Following the retrieval, Transplant Québec’s clinical coordinator/advisor will notify the donor’s family that the process has been completed. If the family wishes, the clinical coordinator/advisor confirms which organs and tissues were retrieved for transplantation and takes the opportunity to thank the family again for having allowed this wonderful gesture of social and human solidarity.
A few weeks after the donation, a thank-you letter is sent to everyone who helped make the donation a reality. At the same time, they are informed of the number of organs that were transplanted and the condition of the recipients.
One month after the donation, with their approval, the family will receive news about the recipient(s). On this occasion, the family is informed of the possibility of having the name of their loved one included in the annual commemorative ceremony organized by the Canadian Organ Donors Association (CODA).
One year after the donation, Transplant Québec sends the family a thank-you card to mark the anniversary of the donor’s generous act.
Sending or receiving news
Sometimes transplant recipients express an interest in showing their gratitude to the donor’s family in a tangible way. And sometimes families feel a need to speak about their loved one and finally break the silence by writing to the transplant recipients. This initiative attests to their openness to receiving news from those who benefited from a transplant.
In both cases, Transplant Québec serves as an intermediary between the recipient and the donor’s family to make sure that both parties are interested in exchanging news. Transplant Québec will uphold the anonymity policy in effect and ensure the anonymity of the correspondence exchanged by the parties, be it a letter, a drawing or a poem.
Correspondence program between organ recipient and donors loved ones