ARLINGTON — Because of confidentiality restrictions, the Bielser family of Arlington knows very little about the donor and family who provided the heart transplanted into 13-year-old Karl Bielser.
What little they do know, beyond that it was a boy, they have chosen not to discuss publicly.
That might change soon, however, because the two families could decide to meet. Bielser had his transplant in March of 2007, and the recommended one-year waiting period for contact between donor and recipient families is about to expire.
Karl Bielser said he hopes the meeting takes place because he very much wants to say “thank you.”
“They’d just lost their son and then they gave his heart to me,” he said. “So I’d just want to meet them.”
“There’s no way to express in words the gratitude you feel for that family that’s given us the ultimate: Karl’s life,” said John Bielser, his father. “They’re a part of our family now, and there’s no way around that. We just want to have the chance to meet with them and assure them that through the passing of their son, so much has come about and enhanced our lives to the point that every second is a bonus for us.”
The enormity of what now binds these two families is something “that just gives you goose bumps,” said Julie Bielser, Karl’s mother. “That was just the greatest gift you could get. It was the most wonderful thing you can do.”
On the day she meets the donor parents, Julie Bielser says she expects to tell them “that they’re son is still here. I’m sure they’ll want to know that (the donated heart) is thriving and that (Karl) is doing good.
“He is doing so good,” she said, “and I hope they’ll contact us just so they know.”
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