GOLDEN STATE DONOR SERVICES OFFERS SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF LIFE THROUGH ORGAN DONATATION

Supporting Our Donor Families
For those who are learning to live with their loss during the initial months and in the year following their loved one’s death, our staff will supply each family with support, care and guidance through phone calls, correspondence, activities and events that honor the loved ones that gave the gift of life. Beyond the initial hospital contact, our Family Care Coordinators are available to assist families with an assortment of bereavement materials, direct them to local support groups and provide information about the recipients who were given the gift of life. If requested, we can also coordinate anonymous correspondence to the recipients when the donor families are ready to do so.

Donor Family Recognition Ceremony
For those donors who gave the gift of life, we annually give thanks to recent donors and their families at the Donor Family Recognition Ceremony during National Donate Life Month in April. At this event, we have a Keynote Speaker, a candlelight ceremony and light refreshments. To pay tribute to the donors, we ask their families to provide us with a photograph of their loved one so that a video presentation can be created and shown during the ceremony. We also request donor families to create a written memory (letter, poem, etc.) to be included in a memory booklet with the photograph which is given to each donor family.

Donor Family Activity Group
While we certainly never “get over” our grief, as time goes on, many people find that they have different needs surrounding their feelings and memories. For those, we offer a social atmosphere to share feelings and activities related to organ donation with the Donor Family Activity Group. Some activities of this group include creating a quilt square in honor of loved ones that gave the gift of life for the GSDS Donor Remembrance Quilt. We also encourage families to attend the “Donate Life Night” with the Sacramento River Cats every Summer at Raley Field in West Sacramento. For more information about the Donor Family Activity Group and the upcoming events, please call (916) 567-1600.

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