V1 - Thank you Letter

BD-STEPS– Protocol #2087
Interview
Interview Thank You and optional Bloodspot Intro Letter (English), March 25, 2015

April 24, 2015
Ms. «motherfirstname» «motherlastname»
«address1»
«address2»
«city», «state» «zip»
Dear Ms. «motherlastname»:
On behalf of the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposureS (BD-STEPS), I want to thank you
for allowing us to interview you for our study. We will learn more about the causes of birth defects by
gathering information from a large number of mothers. Your willingness to participate has been most
valuable to us and will also be of value to other mothers and children in the future.
To keep you and other participants informed, we publish an electronic newsletter every year that updates
participants on the progress of the study. You can access this newsletter at www.bdsteps.org.
<. For every baby born in , a few drops of
blood from the baby’s heel (bloodspots) are dried on a card to test for rare conditions. After the tests are
done, there are usually some bloodspots left over. The bloodspot samples will allow us to study genetic
and other biologic factors that may contribute to the causes of birth defects. Your participation is
voluntary, meaning you can choose to take part or not. And, you may withdraw your child’s bloodspot
samples from this study at any time.
Please read the enclosed information called “Informed Consent for Release of Leftover Newborn
Bloodspots.” If you choose to participate in the study, please sign the consent form and return it to us in
the postage-paid envelope. A second copy of the consent form is enclosed for your records. We’ve
included a $10 gift card to thank you for your time, which you can use even if you choose not to
participate.>>
If you have any questions, please contact one of our study staff at 1-888-743-7324 or you can contact me
at .
Thank you for helping us to better understand and prevent birth defects.
Sincerely,

Enclosures