Donor family events and ceremonies

LifeGift’s Family Aftercare Team

Connecting with our donor families during a pandemic

COVID-19 has transformed how LifeGift engages with its donor families. Due to stay-at-home directives, social distancing and other safety guidelines, LifeGift had the opportunity to develop new and imaginative means to interact and provide educational programming.

LifeGift’s staff and donor families were able to connect online, nurture relationships, learn more about the aftercare journey and LifeGift’s continuing mission. Our organization has been able to have those meaningful connections by providing virtual video conferences to a wider audience, many of whom were previously unable to attend in-person meetings.

The inaugural Pathlight newsletter was launched in March 2020. This quarterly newsletter was created to provide donor families, transplant recipients and others supporting organ, eye and tissue donation with helpful information and useful resources. Due to COVID-19, digital communication has become an even more powerful tool as we navigate unprecedented times and still maintain key relationships.

LifeGift’s family aftercare team also launched donor family focus groups. These sessions enable our donor family members to provide the LifeGift team with invaluable input regarding grief support and donation education. We will be hosting additional focus groups in 2021. Although the pandemic has presented new challenges, LifeGift’s family aftercare team is able to continue providing families with comfort and healing. By leveraging our virtual platforms, LifeGift provides emotional support with education and resources to navigate a new path forward.