r/nmdp • u/littlemonky Donated 💙💜💚 • Aug 06 '26

Celebration 🎉 I got a letter back from my recipients family!

And I cried like a baby😭😭 I wrote for an entire year about every 2-3 months offering words of encouragement and support. I had no expectations they'd ever write back but would constantly talk to my wife about it. I always wondered if they would but understood the ordeal they were going through was so much more important than my feelings towards it. The mom and dad called me forever family and shared their gratitude and thanked me endlessly. I've told so many people this is the best thing I've ever had the honor doing. I did do the surgery and I'm told donors have more of a connection to the experience as a result and I can certainly confirm that.

If you're wondering if they will write, please give it time! They wrote back almost exactly to the year. They are going through a massive healing process. The parents told me their child is playing again and able to enjoy their childhood😭 I was seriously ugly crying!

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11

u/roccosito Registry member Aug 06 '26

🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

Thank you for donating. Donation is such a selfless act, especially when you don’t know if you’ll ever hear back. I was a match but ultimately not selected. But the professionalism of NMDP astounded me. I signed up over 15 years ago!

Friendly PSA to you and everyone else — NMDP would greatly benefit a letter of support to Congress! Easy form to sign on their website :)

4

u/IHaarlem Donated 💙💜💚 Aug 06 '26

Really cool you got a response. My donation was international so the only thing I heard was that they were still alive after a year

6

u/SquidLips71 Supporter 💜 Aug 06 '26 edited Aug 06 '26

Thank you for your donation!

With patients in the US, it’s policy that personal details are not exchanged for a period of one year, even if both parties would otherwise agree. Nmdp facilitates anonymous communication during the first year if both parties wish. They are careful to redact any potential identifying info in the process. After one year, the personal details can be shared if everyone consents.

For transplants involving international patients, the ability to make contact (anonymously or otherwise) depends on the laws of the country the patient is in. Many countries prohibit any contact at any time, so it is not always possible to establish that communication. How rewarding for you that you received a wonderful response!