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Mary Scercy, facing camera, hugs a member of her lung donor’s family.

A double-lung transplant at UNC in March 2010 gave Mary Scercy of Lincoln County, N.C., woman a second chance at life, allowing her to witness the birth of her first granddaughter, attend her son’s wedding and to meet the lung donor’s family on Nov. 5 to thank them face-to-face for their selfless generosity.

The transplant team also attended the reunion with the donor’s family. Such meetings between a donor’s family and an organ recipient are rare, according to Carolina Donor Services, but after an exchange of letters, both families thought that meeting would help them heal.

“It’s difficult to find the words to describe the meeting,” said Dr. Benjamin Haithcock, surgical director of the UNC Lung Transplant Program, who was Scercy’s surgeon. “What a gift to be able to meet and personally thank a family for an organ donation. It’s almost surreal, and it’s certainly been an amazing and unique experience for me.”