The Home for Donor Families Online
Whether you are a donor family, healthcare professional, transplant recipient or friend, we welcome you to the National Donor Family Council's new online home. There are many things to see and do here, and we hope you'll visit us often. Comments or questions? E-mail donorfamily@kidney.org or call 800.622.9010. We'd love to hear from you!
2008 U.S. Transplant Games Sessions
At the Games, the NKF will provide workshops and sharing sessions for donor family members. These workshops give you an opportunity to share with other donor families, honor your loved one in creative ways, find support and answers to your questions, and learn more about donation and transplantation.
We would like your input on the topics and issues to be presented at the 2008 Games. Please take a few minutes to share your ideas with us so we can provide the best program possible for you. You are invited to complete this survey, even if you don't plan to attend the 2008 Games. 
2007 National Donor Recognition Ceremony and Workshop Registration Materials
Revised as of June 4, 2007: The phone numbers for the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel have been corrected in this document. (Some copies of the booklet may have incorrect numbers-- please use the numbers listed in this document). Download the revised version.
There is still time to register! The registration deadline has been extended to Monday, June 4.
Why didn't they write?
By Jim Gleason, heart recipient
In the movie Return to Me, there was a touching scene about the difficulty many transplant recipients experience in writing to their donor family. In this scene, Grace, a heart recipient, still hasn’t mailed the letter she wrote after receiving her transplant a year ago. Her sister offers the encouragement she needs to finally mail the letter. Though this is a fictional story, it does capture the fears and hesitations of many recipients.
While donor families and recipients
aren’t under any obligation to
communicate, many do so. Others
want to, but never do. I asked some
recipients for insight about why they
hadn’t written to their donors, even
to express a simple thank you. Their
answers show that even if the donor
family hasn’t heard from them,
recipients are incredibly grateful for
the gift. 
A Donor Sister's Thoughts on the U.S. Transplant Games
In 1999, my brother Paul died from massive head injuries after a terrible car wreck. He waited for me, the last family member, to arrive at the hospital before he finally let go. As you can imagine, we were heart-broken, stunned and along with that, we were immediately faced with a very an important decision. But we wouldn't know how important until years later.
