Gift of Hope - Organ & Tissue Donor Network

News & Updates | Professional/Continuing Education | Reference

Funeral directors and embalmers, coroners and medical examiners and other forensic professionals work closely with our staff managing tissue donation cases, when autopsies are scheduled, and when releasing organ and/or tissue donors to funeral homes after donations take place.

Our Funeral Services and Forensic Liaison Melissa Williams, CFSP, provides education on the donation process to funeral directors, embalmers, coroners, MEs and other forensic professionals, including states attorneys and law enforcement officials. She also is an on-call resource for forensic professionals during donation cases.

Gift of Hope is also an approved provider of continuing education credits for funeral directors and embalmers through the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation. We present programs on organ and tissue donation and post-procurement care of donors throughout the year.

Funeral directors can request donor memorial materials that we provide at no charge for the memorial services of those who are life-giving donors.