Last updated: September 3, 2026
LVADStrong is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting people living with a left ventricular assist device, their caregivers, and the clinicians who care for them. This policy explains what we collect when you use this website, why, and what you can ask us to do about it.
If anything here is unclear, please email us at [email protected].
The short version
We collect very little. We do not sell your information, ever. We do not run advertising on this site and we do not share your details with advertisers. If you contact us, we use what you tell us to reply to you.
We do use analytics to understand whether the site is reaching people, because as a small nonprofit we need to know if this work is landing. You can turn that off, and the rest of the site works exactly the same if you do.
What we collect, and when
- When you fill in a form
- Our contact, volunteer, and mentor forms ask for your name and the details needed to respond. Some forms ask what your enquiry is about. You choose what to put in the message field. We receive it by email and keep it only as long as we need it to help you.
- When you sign up to the newsletter
- We pass your email address to Mailchimp, who run our mailing list. We do not add anyone who has not asked to be added. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing removes you from the list immediately.
- When you donate
- Donations are processed by Givebutter. Your card details go directly to them and never touch our website or our servers. Givebutter tells us who donated and how much so we can thank you and keep proper records, as a registered nonprofit must.
- When you comment on a story
- We ask for a name and your comment. That is all. Comments are reviewed before they appear.
- Automatically
- Our web host keeps standard server logs, which include IP addresses and browser information. This is ordinary infrastructure logging used to keep the site running and secure.
- Analytics
- We use Google Analytics to see which pages people read, roughly where visitors come from, and whether they find what they need. It tells us, for example, that the LVAD Guide is being read, or that a page nobody reaches needs a better link. We have configured it to anonymise IP addresses, and we do not use it for advertising or to identify individuals.
- Analytics only runs after you accept it in our cookie banner. Decline, and no analytics cookies are set and no data is sent. You can change your mind at any time through the cookie settings link, and you can install Google’s browser opt-out add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
- Security
- We run a security plugin (Wordfence) that logs IP addresses and blocks suspicious requests, and an anti-spam plugin that checks form and comment submissions. Both look at the technical details of a request to decide whether it is a real person. This is protective, not analytical, and we cannot switch it off without leaving the site open to abuse.
What we do not do
- We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. There is no circumstance in which we would.
- We do not use advertising trackers or run ads on this site.
- We do not use your information to build a profile of you, and our analytics is configured for aggregate reporting rather than individual tracking.
- We do not share your information with other organisations, except the service providers named in this policy who need it to do their job.
A note about health information
You may tell us something about your health, or a family member’s health, when you write to us. You are not obliged to. Please share only what you are comfortable sharing.
We are not a healthcare provider and we are not your medical team. Information you send us is not protected health information under HIPAA, because HIPAA applies to healthcare providers, health plans, and their business associates, and we are none of those. We treat what you tell us with care and confidentiality, but the legal protections are not the same as those covering your hospital records. Please keep that in mind when deciding what to include.
Never send us urgent medical questions. If something is wrong, contact your VAD coordinator or your care team. In an emergency, call 911.
Services we use
| Service | What it handles | Where to read their policy |
|---|---|---|
| Our web host | Serving the site and server logs | Available on request |
| Google Analytics | Anonymised usage statistics, only with your consent | policies.google.com/privacy |
| Mailchimp | Newsletter list and sending | intuit.com/privacy |
| Givebutter | Donation processing and receipts | givebutter.com/privacy |
| Wordfence | Blocking malicious traffic | wordfence.com/privacy-policy |
| Our anti-spam plugin | Screening form and comment submissions | Named in our cookie banner |
Each of these has its own privacy policy governing what they do with data they receive. We chose them because they are established providers, but we do not control their practices.
Cookies
When you first arrive you will see a cookie banner. Nothing optional is set until you choose.
Necessary cookies keep the site working: remembering your cookie choice, holding your place if you leave a comment, and letting our security plugin tell a person from a bot. These cannot be switched off, because without them the site either breaks or is unprotected.
Analytics cookies are set by Google Analytics, and only if you accept them. They tell us which pages are read and how people move through the site. They do not identify you by name.
Third party cookies may be set by Mailchimp or Givebutter when you interact with their forms directly, under their own policies.
We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies at all, and we never sell what analytics tells us.
You can change your choice at any time using the cookie settings link in the footer, or clear cookies in your browser. Declining analytics does not limit anything on this site.
How long we keep things
Form submissions are kept while we are helping you and for a reasonable period afterwards, in case you come back to us. Newsletter subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe. Donation records are kept for as long as nonprofit accounting and tax rules require.
Your choices
You can ask us to:
- Tell you what information we hold about you
- Correct anything that is wrong
- Delete your information, where we are not required to keep it
- Stop emailing you, which you can also do yourself from any newsletter
Email [email protected] and we will do our best to respond in a timely manner. We will not ask you to justify the request.
Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act or the GDPR. We will honour those requests regardless of where you live.
Children
This site is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has sent us information, email us and we will delete it.
Changes
If we change this policy we will update the date at the top. Material changes will be noted on this page rather than made quietly.
Contact
Questions about privacy, or a request about your information:
Email: [email protected]