Supporting our donor families
SightLife is committed to donor families. Please look below for resources for donor families along with links to stories of other donors.
How cornea donation works
When an individual dies in a hospital or other medical facility, a hospital staff member alerts the non-profit donation agencies. We then evaluate available medical information to determine what each individual is eligible to donate.
Family Involvement
If the individual is determined to be an eligible tissue donor, a trained SightLife representative will contact appropriate family to offer information about tissue donation. If the deceased had registered as a tissue donor through their local Department of Licensing or other official online registry, our representative will be sure to share that information with the family.
What Happens
After approval for donation, SightLife facilitates the careful and sensitive recovery of cornea tissue in the hope of transplantation. Once the recovery is complete, the family's funeral home can then begin preparations for a viewing or other service. Later, our staff will follow up with the donor's family to provide additional resources and care.
Common Misconceptions
There is no cost to the donor's family for any form of tissue or organ donation. Also, tissue and organ donation will not prevent the family from having a viewing, if so desired. Wearing glasses or having other eye disorders – even blindness – does not prevent a person from donating corneas!
Cornea donor stories
The gift of sight comes from the rich humanity of someone who was a father, mother, sister, brother, son, or daughter. See the links below for stories of several such people.
Donor family resources
Donor Family Gathering
Once a year SightLife, Northwest Tissue Services, and LifeCenter Northwest invite donor families to come together in remembrance of their loved ones who gave the gift of a lifetime through organ, tissue, and cornea donation.
Click here for more information »
Share your Story
We would welcome hearing why you chose cornea donation for your loved one or how your cornea transplant has changed your life. If you are interested in sharing your story, please contact the Donor Relations Manager at 206-682-8500, toll-free at 1-800-847-5786.
Memory Album
SightLife has created a tribute album for donor families to share memories of their loved ones. We display the album during our community and hospital education programs. If you would like to honor your loved one in our album, please send a letter or poem, as well as a photo, to the Donor Relations Manager at SightLife. If you have any questions, please call 206-682-8500, toll-free at 1-800-847-5786.
Donor Family Quilt
SightLife invites donor families to participate in the making of our Donor Family Quilt. Dedicated to the memory of your loved one who has given the Gift of Sight, each quilt square is a symbol of love and life. You are encouraged to write a story about the making of your quilt square and your experience as you created it.
| Other Resources | |
|---|---|
| This website has helpful resources for children whose parents have died. |
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| The National Donor Family Council is affiliated with the National Kidney Foundation. It offers resources for coping with grief and learning more about organ and tissue donation and transplantation. | |
| The Compassionate Friends is an organization offering resources specific to dealing with the loss of a child. | |
| Links to other sites related to dealing with grief. | |
| Click on Mourner's Corner to read the Mourner's Bill of Rights and many related articles. | |
| This web resource offered by the AARP includes a toll-free number that you can call to talk to a live person about your grief. The site also has a library of helpful articles. | |
| Use this site to register to become a tissue and/or organ donor. | |
Writing to your cornea recipient
The decision to write to your loved one's transplant recipient is a very personal choice. You may choose to share information about yourself and your loved one with the transplant recipient. Some have found such sharing to be helpful in the grieving process. It may help to know that transplant recipients consistently express appreciation for the letters they receive and welcome learning about the person who is responsible for their renewed gift of sight. Click here to download and read a sample letter written to a cornea recipient. If you decide to write, here are some helpful suggestions.
- Keep identities anonymous and confidential. You may include the first names of you, your loved one, and family members.
- Include information that you feel comfortable sharing about you, your loved one, and other family members. This may include occupation, hobbies and interests, or perhaps special things your loved one enjoyed.
- You may include the state in which you live. Avoid street addresses, city names, phone numbers, or names of hospitals or physicians.
- Since the religion of the transplant recipient’s family is unknown, please consider this if you are including religious comments.
- Place your card or letter in an unsealed envelope. Include on a separate sheet of paper your full name, your loved one's full name, and the date of the donation. Please send correspondence to:
SightLife
Attention: Donor Relations Manager
221 Yale Ave N, Suite 450
Seattle, WA 98109-5490
Keep in Mind…
You may or may not receive a response to your card or letter. Some transplant recipients like to wait for their surgery to heal somewhat before writing. Others feel overwhelmed with emotion and have difficulty expressing their gratitude through written communication. It could take several months or even years before they feel comfortable writing.
All letters are reviewed to ensure confidentiality. Your correspondence will be delivered to SightLife, where the Donor Relations Manager will review and then forward it to the recipient family. This process may take a few weeks, so please allow extra time in the event your correspondence is time sensitive.
Share your cornea donor's story
Every cornea donor is a person, a unique individual with a family, a story, and a life of their own. If you're in a place where you feel comfortable sharing, we'd love to hear their story. Here are a few questions to help you get started:
- Why did you choose donation for your loved one?
- What was your loved one like? What great things can you tell us about them?
- What special memories of your loved one would you like to share?
