Donor Family Support

The families that give the gift of life have a home with OneLegacy.

OneLegacy Azusa Transplant Recovery Center

This guided tour offers a gentle, compassionate look inside the OneLegacy Azusa Transplant Recovery Center Family Room. A space intentionally designed to honor dignity, comfort, and emotional support during life’s most difficult moments. At OneLegacy, we are committed to providing a safe, calm, and supportive space for all who enter. We hope this tour brings comfort, clarity, and peace of mind.

Family Support Services

A donor family includes any person or group of people who are in some way connected to the deceased donor and have chosen to say "yes" to organ, eye and tissue donation. Regardless of the donation outcome, the donor family has chosen to give the gift of life, health and hope at a very sensitive and often devastating time. All donor families are eligible to participate in the Family Support Services program.

The Family Support Services program includes bereavement literature, virtual grief support groups, follow-up letters, facilitation of correspondence and meetings between donor families and recipients, and events to honor and remember donors.

The Family Support Services Program is available to all OneLegacy Donor Families.

You can let us know how your experience was with OneLegacy's Family Support Services Program and donation by completing our survey below.

English Survey Spanish Survey

Grief Support

Grief Support Groups

OneLegacy hosts 5 virtual grief support groups and each month to support donor and non-donor families in the grief journey. Virtual grief support groups include loss of child, loss of spouse, general loss, and Spanish speaking. Grief Workshops are offered for adults and children, in English and Spanish, held at various locations throughout the year.

General Loss Evening (2nd Wednesday 6:30-8PM)
Loss of Child Morning (2nd Thursday 10-11:30AM)
Loss of Spouse/Partner (3rd Wednesday 6:30-8PM)
Non-Donor Group (3rd Thursday 5:30-7PM)
Spanish Speaking (4th Thursday 6:30-8PM)

If you are interested in participating in one of our grief groups please click here to fill out the interest form here.

Community referrals for additional Services

Upon request, we will refer donor families to agencies in their area that will be able to provide them with the services such as individual, couples, and family grief counseling. Family Support Services does NOT provide individual or family counseling.

Online Family Resource Folders

English Resource Folder

Spanish Resource Folder

Donor Family Facebook Group

OneLegacy Family Support Services has created and moderates a private Facebook group for the purpose of providing a forum for donor family members to connect with and support one another along their grief journey. The group is moderated during week-day business hours by OneLegacy's Family Support Specialists. However, members can participate 24/7 once they complete and agree to the disclaimer. For more information or to join, review the group guidelines and submit your request here.

Non-Donor Family Resources

We understand donation is not pathway that all families choose, however, we feel these families receive support as they took the time to consider the decision of donation at such a difficult time. OneLegacy offers a virtual grief support group for non-donor families. If you are interested in attending this group, please click here to complete interest form.

Listed below are some additional bereavement support resources. If you need help navigating these resources or finding additional resources please reach out to our Family Support Services department at (800) 423-7220 or familycare@onelegacy.org.

Children's Resources

Childmind.org Sesame Street in Communities Scholastic Recommended Readings Comfort Zone Camp National Alliance for Grieving Children

Helpful Resources

Camp Widow Compassionate Friends American Foundation for Suicide Prevention The California Victim Compensation Program

Web-Based Bereavement Resources

What's your Grief? Grief Haven Grief Net Grief Share Legacy Connect Soaring Spirits Loss Foundation Pledge Life Memorial

FAQ

What is "normal grieving" and how do I know if I need help?

Everyone grieves in their own, unique way. It is not uncommon for one to experience a wide variety of physical and emotional reactions to loss. It is important to allow yourself to move through your grief at a pace that is appropriate for you. Grief is only considered abnormal when it is accompanied by thoughts of self-harm, suicide, harm to others, or if it begins to cause a severe lack of functioning in one's life. If you are in crisis or feel suicidal please contact the 24/7 hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text "home" to 741741 for support.

How do I contact my loved one's recipient?

OneLegacy receives cards and letters from transplant recipients thanking their donor families for the precious gift of life. We assist in all correspondence between the donor families and recipients, and we maintain anonymity with all correspondence until both donor families and recipients are ready for direct contact. Some recipients choose to initiate contact with donor families by writing a letter or sending a card expressing their gratitude, while some donor families choose to initiate contact by constructing a letter addressed to all recipients. If you would like more information or feel ready to write a letter, you can do so here.

**Please note that at this time we are only able to forward letters to whole organ recipients (i.e, recipients of heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, and/or small intestine). We apologize that we are unable to forward letters to or arrange meetings with cornea or tissue recipients (bone, skin, heart valves, ligaments, cornea/eye, or veins) at this time due to privacy health laws.

When can I expect to hear from Family Support Services?

Families who have opted in to the Family Support Services program should have received a letter in the mail by 6 weeks. If you have not received a letter or would like to opt in to the Family Support Services program, please contact us by calling (800) 423-7220, or emailing us at familycare@onelegacy.org.

How can I receive an update on my loved one's donation?

Many donor families wonder how their loved one's organ recipients are doing months and years after the transplant or wish they knew how many people were helped with their loved one's tissue donation. If your loved one donated tissue, such as corneas, heart valves, veins, skin and/or bone, we can request a tissue update if it has been over a year since their donation. If your loved one donated organs, such as kidneys, pancreas, liver, lungs or a heart, we can request a medical update on the recipients after 6 months.

Read Full FAQs

About Your Recipient

Organ Donation

A loved one is an organ donor if they donate their heart, lung(s), kidney(s), liver and/or pancreas. Families who have opted into the Family Support Services program will receive an outcome letter approximately six weeks after donation based on recipient information that was released from the transplant center. Due to privacy health laws, recipient names or identifying information are not provided. Families will also be notified if organs could not be transplanted.

OneLegacy does not have direct contact with organ recipients. We are a bridge between the hospital, where a loved one was medically treated, and the transplant center, where the recipient is medically treated.

Following the outcome letter, the legal next-of-kin may request a donation update on the recipient(s) once every six months. OneLegacy does not receive direct notification when the status of recipients changes and therefore cannot automatically forward this information to donor families.

Donor families: Before you request a donation update, please make sure you have support in your life and feel ready to deal with favorable news as well as potential difficult news about your loved one's recipients.

If you would like to request an organ donation update, click here.

If you would like information on writing to recipients, click here.

Tissue and Cornea Donation

A loved one is a tissue donor if they donate their corneas, heart valves, veins, skin and/or bone. Families who have opted into the Family Support Services program will receive an outcome letter approximately six weeks after donation providing information about the tissue that was recovered for transplant and its possible uses in helping others.

OneLegacy does not have direct contact with tissue recipients. Unlike organs which require immediate transplantation, tissue can be preserved for up to ten years meaning the donation may help more individuals over time.

Following the outcome letter, the legal next-of-kin may request a donation update twelve months after donation. Due to tissue regulations and the quality assurance process, it may take time before the tissue is used for transplant. OneLegacy does not receive direct notification when tissue is transplanted and therefore cannot automatically forward this information to donor families.

Donor families: Before you request an update, please make sure you have support in your life and feel ready to deal with favorable news as well as potential difficult news about your loved one's tissue donation.

If you would like to request a tissue donation update, click here.

It is not possible to initiate communication with tissue recipients because there is not a direct recipient at the time of donation. However, if a recipient writes first, we will contact you and it may be possible to write back.

Contact OneLegacy's Family Support Services Department:
(800) 423-7220
familycare@onelegacy.org