Kris Laraway faced what felt like an insurmountable tragedy when her 2-year-old daughter, Erin, passed away after contracting bacterial meningitis in 1997. “It was waves of fear, panic, and terror,” she said.
The only saving grace was the decision for Erin to help others by donating organs and tissue. In all, she saved four lives, including a 5-month-old boy who received her liver, a mother of three who needed a kidney, and two babies who received her heart valves.
While Kris is grateful that Erin could help others, she struggled with feeling lost and overwhelmed at times. She found some hope in 1998 when she joined the LifeNet Health Donor Family Advisory Committee. Kris was inspired by her contact with others who had faced similar situations.
Soon she began volunteering at LifeNet Health, followed by an internship with Donor Family Services. “I wanted to help others, and I knew I had two paths to choose from,” she said. “One path was to exist in a place of pain where I would feel bitter and angry about the loss of my daughter. The other path was to take my love of Erin and channel it into honoring her.”
In 2001, Kris became a LifeNet Health employee. She immediately made an impact through her work to develop programs centered on the needs of donor families – including the department’s In Celebration & Remembrance ceremonies held annually across Virginia, in northern Florida, and in the Pacific Northwest.
Most notably, Kris designed the Thanks2You initiative, which encourages transplant recipients to write to donor families through LifeNet Health. The program, which relies on the support of hospital partners around the country, has had overwhelming success. Approximately 3,000 messages come in annually, bringing hope and meaning to assure families that their loved one lives on. Occasionally, the letters processed by LifeNet Health lead to in-person meetings.
Other organ procurement organizations and tissue agencies have used Thanks2You as a model for similar programs.
Kris is happy to play a role in offering hope and healing to donor families. “I can never give enough!”