Writing Your Donor Family

Receiving the gift of sight is a very special gift, and many donor families find great comfort in knowing that their donation has improved the lives of others. We encourage cornea transplant patients to send a thank you to their donor families.

Finding the words to express a thank you to the donor family can be challenging.
Here are some suggestions for sharing your transplant experience and gratitude with your donor family.

How to Begin

You may want to send a greeting card or a letter telling them about yourself.

• Begin with, “Dear Donor Family”.

• Acknowledge the donor family and thank them for their gift.

• Tell them about your family situation: marital status, children, and grandchildren.

• Do not include names.

• Write about your job(s), hobbies or interests.

• Use simple language.

Share Your Experience

• Describe how long you needed a transplant and how it affected you and your loved ones.

• Explain the difference a transplant has made in your life, e.g. you returned to or started work or school.

• Tell your donor family about the routine things that you couldn’t do before, but are able to do now (reading, driving, etc.).

Sign Your Card or Letter

• Sign it, “A Grateful Recipient”.

• Do not include a return address or phone number.

• Do not identify yourself.

Send Your Card or Letter

• On a separate piece of paper, write your name and date of surgery so that The Eye Bank can identify your donor family.

• Place your card or letter in an unsealed envelope.

• Place these two items in another sealed envelope and mail to:

The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration
120 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005

Confidentiality

To ensure recipient and donor confidentiality, it is our policy that any correspondence between donor families and recipients be made through The Eye Bank without revealing the identity of either party to the other. Once your card or letter is received, it will be forwarded to the donor family.

Donor Family Responses

Any reply from the donor family will be promptly forwarded to you. Not all donor families are prepared to respond right away, if at all, so please be patient and understanding.

With permission from The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration, Inc.