Courtney Tillotta Shares Her Time and Compassion with Donor Families

In her position as Donor Family Liaison Courtney spends a lot of her time communicating with donor families and part of that communication involves not saying anything. “I communicate directly with donor families, transplant recipients daily and sometimes the thing I do most is simply listen. I’ve come to learn just how helpful that can truly be.” She also talks other Organ Procurement Organizations and transplant centers all over the U.S. taking phone calls from donor families and recipients who want to communicate with each other and who also want to meet each other. “I help them through this process in order to make it as easy and comfortable for them as possible. I follow up with families after the donation to check up on them, see how they are doing, and to answer any questions they have regarding the donation or about the death of their loved one” She also provides updated information to families regarding the organ recipients and tissue graft outcome information at anytime after the donation.

Making It Personal

Like so many of those working in the organ donation field, Courtney chose this work for personal reasons. “My mother was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis when she was 15-years-old and she has received three kidney transplants. My entire life has involved donation and transplant and when I was in undergraduate school I wanted to put a program together about donation. I contacted Brenda Johnson at IOPO who sent speakers to my college. After the program ended I approached Brenda and asked her if IOPO had any intern positions open in Family Services and they did! I became and intern and was later hired after my graduation.”

Courtney continues to make the services she offers to donor families personal. “My most memorable donation experience was when my mother received her third kidney transplant. I was 10-years-old and I remember anxiously waiting and praying for her while she was in the operating room. My aunt donated her kidney to my mother and so my whole family was there. Here it is 14 years later and they are both doing extremely well. Donation has shaped my life because my mother and I would not be alive today without it. She received her second transplant just one year before giving birth to me. I feel that I owe my life and hers to the donor family who decided to donate their son’s organs. I am honored that in my role at IOPO I have been given the opportunity to give back to donor families everyday.”

Courtney is seeking to bring greater value to her work by continuing her education and a Masters degree in social work. “I think that there are endless possibilities when it comes to looking at donation within the next five years. Just look at how far we have come so far!”