Family Resource Program
PNTB is dedicated to donors and their families; our responsibility is to provide compassionate care and support to those whose loved one gave the gift of life. The Family Resource Program provides bereavement support and follow-up for donor families through phone calls, letters, support group activities and events to honor and remember donors. The program coordinator also facilitates correspondence between donor families and transplant recipients. Donor families and recipients are free to correspond anonymously with one another whenever they choose. Details about correspondence can be found here.
Donor families are invited to join PNTB’s Donor Family Advisory Committee, where they can provide insight into some of the ongoing needs of donor families, help find avenues to best care for and approach future donor families, and plan future events. In addition, some donor families choose to volunteer for Donate Life Northwest (DLNW), the education team responsible for organ and tissue public outreach in Oregon and SW Washington. Through DLNW, families are involved in student outreach programs, Hispanic outreach and DMV education. Volunteering through DLNW also allows families to be involved in organizing Donor Recognition Ceremonies and quilt workshops for the Threads of Life Quilt. Families are also invited to join the local chapter of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Donor Family Council.
Sometimes donor families and recipients choose to write to each other to share information. For many donor families, it is a chance to share a little about their loved one with the person whose life was saved by their donation. For recipients, it is an opportunity to say thank you and share a little about their journey through transplant. Many donor families said that sharing through correspondence helps in their grieving process. The choice to write or not is personal; however, we encourage you to write if and when it feels right. The brochure Writing to Transplant Recipients offers additional information and guidance to help write your letter as well as details on where to send it once completed. If you would like more support or have additional questions, please feel free to call our family resource program coordinator at (503) 494-5560.
The Threads of Life Quilt is a visual display of the lives impacted by organ, eye and tissue donation and the bond between those who have given and those who have received. PNTB, together with Donate Life Northwest, Lions VisionGift, and Community Tissue Services, invites you to participate in this program to honor donors, donor families, living donors, recipients, and transplant candidates. Because the quilt program will always exist to commemorate all of the lives touched by donation, there is no deadline for submitting a quilt square. Every year in April, a new quilt of life is created from the quilt squares submitted that year and unveiled in our service area. To have your quilt square included in the current year's unveiling, please submit squares by February. Specific details on the quilt program, how to submit a square honoring life, and where to send completed squares can be found here.
The National Donor Family Council: www.donorfamily.org
The online home of the National Kidney Foundation’s Donor Family Council. You will find support from other donor families, be able to remember a loved one, or find other resources to help you on your grief journey.
Grief Watch: www.griefwatch.com
Resources for bereaved families and professional caregivers. This site will provide you with resources, memorial products and links that can support you through your loss.
The Dougy Center: www.dougy.org
The National Center for Grieving Children and their families. Offers online resources as well as support groups.
Compassionate Friends: www.compassionatefriends.org
A web-based support center for families dealing with the loss of a child of any age. Information, resources and local chapter support groups are available.