Carolina Donor Services facilitates written correspondence between the recipients and the donor families. All correspondence is anonymous and is kept confidential.

There is no set time that recipients must wait before writing to their donor family.  All correspondence will be kept on file until the donor family consents to its release.

Suggestions for Writing to your Donor Family

• Use only first names for yourself and others you mention.
• Include your age, job or occupation, hobbies or interests.
• Include your family situation: marital status, children or grandchildren.
  (Remember to use first names.)
• Be sensitive regarding religious comments and views.
• Talk about your transplant experience.
• Use simple language.
• Recognize your donor family and thank them for their gift.
• Describe how long you waited for a transplant and what the wait was like for you and your family.
• Explain how the transplant has improved your health and changed your life.
  
• Talk about the activities that you can now participate in that you couldn’t participate in before the transplant.
• Explain what has happened in your life since your transplant, e.g. celebrated another birthday or anniversary, got married, became a parent, returned to work or school.

Close Your Letter

• Sign your first name only.
• Do not include your address, city, or telephone number.
• Do not reveal the name or location of the hospital or doctor involved with the transplant.

Mail Your Letter

• Place your letter in an unsealed envelope.
• You do not need to place a stamp on your unsealed envelope.  We will cover all costs of mailing your correspondence to your donor family.
• Include a separate piece of paper with your full name and date of transplant which CDS will use to match up the appropriate donor family.
• Place these items in another envelope and mail them to:

Mail to:

Life Anew Program Coordinator

Carolina Donor Services
3621 Lyckan Parkway
Durham, NC 27707
lifeanew@carolinadonorservices.org

Upon receiving your letter, CDS will review the letter to ensure privacy and then forward it to your donor family, if the family is willing to accept correspondence.

You may or may not hear back from the family. While some donor families have said writing helps in their grieving process, other families - even though they are comfortable with their decision to donate – prefer privacy and choose not to communicate with the transplant recipients.

At some point you may want to communicate directly with the donor family.  You do have this option.  We encourage you to correspond with the donor family through Carolina Donor Services at least once, if not more, prior to starting this process.  If you want to communicate directly we will send you a letter outlining some of the positives and possible negatives about communicating directly with the donor family.  Also, we will include a consent form that must be signed by both you and a witness.  Once this consent form is returned to our office, we will forward a similar letter and consent form to the donor family.  When the donor family has returned their consent form, we will release your information to the donor family and their information to you.  Remember, everyone has a choice in this matter.  If you have questions or concerns, feel free to call the Life Anew Program Coordinator at (800) 200-2672.