"person to whom a gift or donation is made," 1520s, from Old French doné, donné, noun use of past-participle of doner, donner; from Latin donare (see donor + -ee).
Entries linking to donee
donor n.
mid-15c., donour, "one who gives or bestows, one who makes a grant," from Anglo-French donour, Old French doneur (Modern French donneur), from Latin donatorem (nominative donator) "giver, donor," agent noun from past participle stem of donare "give as a gift," from donum "gift" (from PIE root *do- "to give").
As "person from whom blood is removed for transfusion," by 1875; in reference to those living or dead from whom organs or tissues are removed for transplantation, by 1918 (originally of guinea pigs).
-ee
word-forming element in legal English (and in imitation of it), representing the Anglo-French -é ending of past participles used as nouns (compare -y (3)). As these sometimes were coupled with agent nouns in -or, the two suffixes came to be used as a pair to denote the initiator and the recipient of an action.
Not to be confused with the French -ée that is a feminine noun ending (as in fiancée), which is from Latin -ata.