National Donor Memorial
The memorial symbolizes the emotional journey experienced by donor families during the donation process.
Visit in person
Visit and tour the garden and UNOS headquarters
Connecting donor families and recipients
Sometimes donor families and recipients choose to contact one another. While the decision to share your experience is a personal choice, many donor families and recipients find comfort in correspondence. How to reach out.
Donor tributes
Honor an organ donor by sharing an online tribute of their life’s special moments, accomplishments, and precious memories with family and friends. View tributes or share a donor tribute story through the links below.
Wall of names
See the section key to locate names on the wall
The Lisa Schaffner Community Advocate Award
Developed by UNOS in 2010 as the National Donor Memorial Award for Excellence, this honor was recently reimagined as the Lisa Schaffner Community Advocate Award, in honor of the memory of Lisa Schaffner, a beloved advocate for donation and transplant and longtime member of Team UNOS who passed away in 2021.
The Lisa Schaffner Community Advocate Awards recognizes unsung heroes from across the country who have gone above and beyond to promote organ donation. Like its namesake, recipients are tireless champions who help change lives and inspire others through their advocacy.
Awardees
2022: UNOS has recognized Lisa Schaffner as the inaugural recipient of the Lisa Schaffner Community Advocate Award, in loving recognition of her commitment to organ donation and transplant, the countless lives she touched through her advocacy, and her enduring legacy as a force for good in her own backyard and across the nation.
National Tree of Life
The National Tree of Life virtual event is an opportunity to gather together to recognize the gift of organ, eye and tissue donation, to pay tribute to donors and their families, and to celebrate the lives of recipients across the country. We also hope this event may be a moment of solace for friends and families who are grieving, and for all who may experience a greater sense of loss during the holidays.
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and Donate Life America (DLA) hosted the National Tree of Life virtual event on Dec. 14, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. EST.
To view the 2022 National Tree of Life event during which we shared stories and honored the legacy of donors in each state who gave the gift of life in 2022 and celebrated the thousands of lives they saved, open the toggle below.
2022 event recording
In years past, the program provided an opportunity for families to hang an ornament of their choosing on the Tree of Life in memory of their loved ones. Many of those ornaments can be seen here.
Make a gift to the National Donor Memorial
Your gift supports the 10,000 square foot memorial garden located in Richmond, Virginia dedicated to organ donors nationwide, as well as programs and activities supporting education, tours and memorial celebrations. Give now.