The power of connections

Last weekend I attended a wedding with my family.  At the reception we sat with another family who had small kids.  As we started to talk with with the required introductions – such as name, how do you know the couple and so on - we talked about what we do. I shared that I work for LifeSource, at which point Tabitha spoke up and told me that she was a donor sister and that her mother had received a lot of support from our organization.

Tabitha’s sister died more than 15 years ago and she spoke very passionately and powerfully about the support they received and the relationships that were created because of the gift of life. She spoke about meeting the parents of the recipients and how important it was to her mother to meet the mother of one of her sister’s recipients. She shared that they both had anxiety about the meeting, such as the recipient’s feeling of guilt of having a surviving child and so on.

As Tabitha continued to talk she gave example after example about how donation had changed her family’s life. I could see in her face how much it had impacted her and the excitement about talking to someone who understood the process and not having to explain it. It seemed that she may not have told these stories for a while and telling them to me was encouraging both of us. She talked about her family becoming family friends with the recipients and their families, even flying to visit one family by herself when she was 16.  She talked about keeping in contact with the donation coordinators and how that had impacted them.

Connections that are created by the generous giving of the gift of life are powerful, both for the donor’s family and the recipient’s.  Each side can gain healing from being in a relationship with the other, and families are connecting more often.  Around 10% of LifeSource donor families have direct contact with the recipients of their loved ones gifts; not too long ago it was rare and unheard of.  As we continue to talk with donor families, recipients and transplant professionals we can increase those numbers and there will be more stories shared over a meals at at receptions talking about the power of giving the gift of life and the connections it creates.