Heart Recipient Meets Donor’s Family

June 8, 2018

Heart recipient, Doris Arnold, celebrated the two year anniversary of her transplant with her donor’s family on Saturday, May 12. Donor daughter Melissa Colorigh listened to the heart of her mother, Daphne Williams, in Doris.

After going through the proper channels, the two families originally connected in the fall of 2017 over the internet, but this was the first face-to-face meeting. Prior to the beginning of the celebration, aptly themed ‘Two Families Became One’, they shared a private moment. Melissa held a stethoscope to Arnold’s chest to hear her mother’s heart beating. It was emotional for both. “I definitely broke down,” said Colorigh. “I couldn’t say anything,” said Arnold. “It’s just a miracle.” Colorigh added that it was “like being with my mom in a way.”