Choosing to write a transplant recipient or a donor's family is a personal decision. For some donor families, this communication can be a helpful part of the grieving process. Transplant recipients are grateful for the gift of sight and some want to communicate their appreciation. Lone Star Lions Eye Bank will facilitate any communication a donor family or recipient patient wishes to have, as long as the guidelines below are respected. Any communication mailed to the Eye Bank will remain confidential. Our policy is to forward communication directed to a transplant recipient to their surgeon, who then decides if the patient is ready to have that contact. Letters for donor families will be forwarded to the family directly.

Suggestions for what to include in your letter:

• Your or your loved one's first name only
• Your or your loved ones' job or occupation
• Your or your loved one's hobbies or interests
• Your or your loved one's family situation, such as spouse, children, or grandchildren
• Before making religious comments, please consider that their beliefs are unknown to you
• If you are a transplant recipient, you may want to include information about that experience, including information about the reason for the transplant and how the gift of sight has changed your life

Please keep identities anonymous and confidential. Avoid using last names, street addresses, city names, phone numbers, or names of hospitals and physicians.

Please place your letter or card in an unsealed envelope. Include a separate piece of paper with your full name, the date of your transplant and the name of your surgeon, or the name of your loved one and the date and city of their death. Mail both your card or letter and the separate note to: