HonorBridge provides opportunities for continuing education, ongoing support, and facilitates communication with our staff and hospital partners to return donors to their loved ones after an organ, eye, or tissue recovery. Together, we can care for families and save and enhance lives through donation.
Best Practices for Tissue Donors
Pre-Planning Resources
If your funeral home offers pre-planning services, HonorBridge can provide informational material to assist the people you serve in learning about the choice of donation. To request these materials, contact us. As part of its commitment to Funeral Homes, HonorBridge supports the North Carolina Funeral Directors Association (NCFDA), Funeral Directors and Morticians Association of NC, Inc. (FD&MA), and the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) in their mission to provide professionalism to their members.
Post-Donor Follow Up Program
HonorBridge makes hundreds of personal visits each year to funeral homes to follow up on cases and engage in continuous improvement. Contact us to request a follow up call or visit.
Reimbursement Requests
HonorBridge offers limited reimbursement for embalming of tissue donors. Costs related to donation are never passed on to the donor family. Please use the request for reimbursement form.
Funeral Home Partners Form
HonorBridge provides a funeral home form for those filing for reimbursement. Click here to download the form.
Resources for Embalmers
HonorBridge recommends this guide to assist the embalmer.
Your Part of the Gift: A Guide for Funeral Directors
This brochure explains general information regarding donation and is provided in the donor packet, or you can click here to download a copy now.
Resources for Families
AfterCare Program
If a family consents, a Family Support Coordinator will reach out to them by mail and phone in years following the date of their loved one’s loss. As part of the program, families will receive grief resources, memorial gifts, and invitations to create a quilt square and participate in our annual Donor Family Tribute. Learn more about how we can support families in their grief journey on our public website.
Keepsake Poem
Download a copy of a tribute poem to present to families of donors as a keepsake or to use as part of their memorial service.
Tribute Gifts and Obituary Listings
Donor families may wish to include a statement about donation in their loved one’s obituary, to celebrate the decision to gift life after death. The Donate Life logo can accompany an obituary indicating the deceased was an organ, eye, and tissue donor.
Some suggested language for the obituary:
- John gave in death as he gave in life. He was an organ, eye, and tissue donor.
- John’s final act was to give the gift of life through organ, eye, and tissue donation.
- We are so proud of John for giving the gift of life through organ, eye, and tissue donation.
Families may also ask about designating HonorBridge in the obituary as an option for friends and families to give in memory of their loved one in lieu of flowers. Financial gifts given in memory of a donor are used to support HonorBridge’s mission to heal and save lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation. Families may list our website and/or our mailing address for these gifts: