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National Donor Memorial

National Donor Memorial: Celebrating 20 years Watch video

Visiting the memorial

We invite you to visit The National Donor Memorial in person or virtually. Designed to reflect the emotional journey of donation and transplant, the memorial is open every day of the year.

 

More than 100 invited guests were in attendance on Nov. 16, 2023 to mark the 20th anniversary of the National Donor Memorial at UNOS headquarters in Richmond, VA. Watch the highlights here or read more about event

Honoring donors

Created to honor all organ, eye and tissue donors, the Memorial holds in one space the loss and hope, gratitude and sorrow, memory and possibility of donation and transplant. Since the memorial was first dedicated in 2003, thousands of visitors have come to remember loved ones, to give thanks for the gift of life and new beginnings, and to walk among the hundreds of names carved into the memorial’s walls.

Scroll down the page to find additional ways to honor donors.

Anthony Franceschini, Jr.
Two women in hospital room. One sitting on hospital bed, the other leaning over, both smiling
Shawna Robinson smiling with tree in bloom in the background
Daniel Walker

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.

Symbol heart

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.

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

Dr. Brittany Clayborne, 2023

Lisa Schaffner, 2022

Jon Lee, 2021

Tom and Susan Robinson, 2020

Jim Gleason, 2019

Terry Murray, 2018

Alejandra Cortes, 2017

Harvey Steele, 2016

David and Susan Caples, 2015

Barbara Lee, 2014

Patty Jo Herndon, 2013

Tom Gano, 2012

2022: UNOS 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.

Watch the recorded event

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and Donate Life America (DLA) hosted the National Tree of Life virtual event on Dec. 19, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. EST.

close-up of evergreen tree with variety of ornaments showing faces

See ornaments in memory and honor of loved ones that adorn the Tree of Life.

Make a gift to the National Donor Memorial Revitalization Fund

20 years after its inauguration, the National Donor Memorial has sustained damage from general aging, detrimental weathering, and structurally invasive landscape elements. UNOS has launched the National Donor Memorial Revitalization Fund to renew our nation’s memorial garden for organ, eye and tissue donors.

Please help us reach our fundraising goal of $150,000 by making a tax-deductible gift to the fund today. With your support, you are helping to ensure the National Donor Memorial remains a safe, publicly accessible, and peaceful sanctuary for donor families and friends, grateful patients, and public visitors to honor America's selfless donor heroes.

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