Ceremonies & Events

Each year, Donor Family Services plans several events to honor our donor families. Our current annual events include:

Annual Statewide Donor Family Ceremony
LifePoint DFS sponsors a statewide Donor Family Ceremony each April. Our donor families are invited to share in this special time of honoring and remembering their loved ones who have given the greatest gift – life, sight, and quality of life. The donor names are called and/or photos displayed during a formal ceremony. Donor families are given gifts in remembrance of their loved ones.

National Donor Recognition Ceremony
LifePoint sponsors several donor families each year to the National Donor Recognition Ceremony. Every other year this event is held in Washington, DC; on alternate years it is held in conjunction with the Transplant Games and Donor Recognition Ceremony. Donor families are given the opportunity to attend these ceremonies each year. Check the upcoming events portion of this site for exact dates and locations.

Memorial Service
The Medical University of South Carolina sponsors a Transplant Picnic in Charleston each October. Donor families are invited to participate in a candlelight memorial service before the picnic. Donor Family Services is responsible for the donor ceremony portion of the picnic. Many recipients attend, and, at times, some of our donor families have attended with their loved one’s recipient. The picnic gives recipients and donor families a chance to visit and share.

Candlelight Ceremony
Hospice of Charleston invites LifePoint’s donor families to participate in the Candlelight Ceremony at Colonial Lake in Charleston each November before Thanksgiving. Luminaries are placed around the lake with names of donors and other loved ones who are no longer with us. It’s a beautiful ceremony when the candles are all lit, representing the lives of those we love.

Holiday Tree-Trimmings
LifePoint Donor Family Services and Hospital Development schedule Christmas tree-trimming ceremonies in hospitals throughout South Carolina in early December. We invite donor families to place an ornament on the tree of their choice, usually in the hospital where their loved one was a donor, to remember and honor them during the holiday season. We also have an opportunity to thank the hospital staff for their involvement in the donation process.

Click here to view the 2007 Tree Ceremony schedule.

Click here to see photos from the 2006 Tree Ceremonies.