Leaflet 'Writing to your donor's family: A patient guide', printed in March 2013 by Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and used by a heart transplant recipient

Heart transplants rely on a person’s loved ones deciding to donate their organs in line with their wishes. Organ donation is anonymous and recipients are not aware of the identify of their donor. While there are awards in place to honour donors and their families, heart transplant recipients can write to their donor’s loved one. Contact is through transplant centres or Donor Family Care Service teams. When writing they are asked not to reveal any information that would make them easy to identify. Donors’ loved ones can choose to open letters, read them and reply if they wish. It can be hard to find the words to communicate with a donor family, so this guide helps people with the process.