Thank The Donor
Saying thanks goes a long way!
Through the Thank-The-Donor™, blood recipients and their loved ones can send an anonymous, one-way message to the their donors via email. Messages of appreciation from blood recipients show our blood donors their impact in the lives of the community.
Using Thank-The-Donor™ is easy. Click here and follow the instructions.
Use of the Thank-The-Donor™ tool is entirely VOLUNTARY. If you are a blood donor, you will only receive a thank you email from a blood recipient if they choose to send you one. Bloodworks Northwest has no control over which blood recipients decide to send thank you emails.
No contact information or identifying patient information will be shared between the blood recipient and/or sender of the message and the blood donor. For more information, read our Privacy Statement below.
Privacy Statement
Bloodworks Northwest is prohibited by law to share any contact information between blood donors and blood recipients. No contact information or identifying patient information will be shared between the blood recipient and/or sender of the message and the blood donor.
All messages sent through the Thank-The-Donor™ website are received by Bloodworks Northwest and vetted prior to being forwarded by Bloodworks Northwest to the blood donor. The sender of the message DOES NOT have access to the email address, or any other contact information, related to the blood donor. The blood donor receiving the message DOES NOT have access to the email address, or any other contact information, related to the blood recipient and/or sender of the message.
NOTE: Messages will only be forwarded to blood donors via email. Messages sent to blood donors through the Thank-The-Donor™ website will only be forwarded to blood donors who have current email addresses in the Bloodworks Northwest database. If a blood donor has unsubscribed from the Bloodworks Northwest email service, they will not receive any messages sent through the Thank-The-Donor™ website. If a blood donor does not wish to receive any messages sent through the Thank-The-Donor™ website, they can click the “Unsubscribe” button at the bottom of any Bloodworks Northwest email, or they can contact Bloodworks Northwest at 1-800-398-7888 and request to be placed on the Do Not Email list.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Thank the Donor?
The Thank the Donor program is a tool that allows blood product recipients, their family, or friends to send one-way, anonymous, thank you messages to the actual person or persons who donated the blood products received.
How did the blood recipient get my email address?
They didn’t. Neither the blood recipient, nor anyone else, who wrote you the Thank You message has your email address, or any other direct personal information about you.
How was I identified as this recipient’s blood donor?
On every unit of blood product we send to a hospital there is something called a Donor Identification Number, or DIN. The DIN is a federally-required label that allows hospitals and blood banks to know exactly where a blood donation came from. It is a 13-digit code that contains no other identifying donor information. Using the DIN, and an online tool called Thank the Donor, the recipient of your blood was able to send a thank you email to Bloodworks Northwest – not directly to you. We have staff members who receive incoming thank you emails from blood recipients. Our staff members have secure access to the Bloodworks donor database, and use the DIN to find the name and email address of the donor who provided the blood product that help saved the recipient’s life. Our staff forward the messages on to the appropriate donors. The person who sent the thank you email will receive NO information about the person who donated the blood.
Has any of my personal information been shared with the person who received my blood?
No. All thank you emails sent from blood recipients come directly to Bloodworks Northwest. One of our staff uses our secure database to identify the blood donor and their email address, and then our staff member sends the thank you email to the donor. The person who sent the thank you email will receive NO information about the person who donated the blood.
Can the blood recipient continue to contact me?
The blood recipient could send you another message using our Thank the Donor program – the same way they sent the first message. But all thank you emails sent from blood recipients come directly to Bloodworks Northwest. One of our staff uses our secure database to identify the blood donor and their email address, and then our staff member sends the thank you email to the donor. You will never receive an email directly from the person who received your blood.
Can I contact the person who received my blood?
No. Federal Privacy Laws prevent us from sharing any distinct identifying information about either blood recipients or blood donors.
Can I learn more about the person who received my blood?
No. Federal Privacy Laws prevent us from sharing any distinct identifying information about either blood recipients or blood donors.
My partner/friend/family member/coworker received a thank you email from a person who received the blood they donated – how come I have not received a thank you email from the person who received my blood?
The sending of thank you emails is a purely voluntary act on the part of a blood recipient, their friends, or their family members. Bloodworks has no control over who decides to send a thank you email and who does not. But the more you donate, the greater the chance your blood will be used by someone who will want to send a thank you email.
Please make sure to have a valid email address on file.
Is there any way that I can ensure that I receive a thank you note from the person receiving my blood?
No. The sending of thank you emails is a purely voluntary act on the part of a blood recipient, their friends, or their family members. Bloodworks has no control over who decides to send a thank you email and who does not. But the more you donate, the greater the chance your blood will be used by someone who will want to send a thank you email.
Please make sure to have a valid email address on file.
I do not wish to receive emails from blood recipients – Can I stop receiving them?
Yes. We can put you on our Do Not Email list and you will not receive any further emails from us. Please contact us at [email protected].
Did Bloodworks Northwest invent the Thank the Donor program?
No. The Thank the Donor program was created by the Oklahoma Blood Institute based in Oklahoma City. Bloodworks is licensing the right to use the program from them.
When did Bloodworks start sending messages from blood recipients to blood donors?
Bloodworks launched the Thank the Donor program in May 2019.
