Mid-America Transplant

"My sister wrote the first letter to my donor family while I was still in the hospital recovering from my liver transplant due to autoimmune hepatitis. I wrote to them about four months later, thanking them and expressing my sympathy.

I didn’t hear back until my one-year anniversary, when my donor’s parents wrote to me. They said it was part of their healing process and told me about their son. At the end of the letter, they said they did not want any further contact. I honored their wishes, but I think of them often and am grateful they honored their son’s wishes, even though it was very hard for them."

—Cherith R.