Decision-making process for living kidney donors.
OBJECTIVE
To explore what people experienced when deciding to donate a kidney and to explore associated issues and concerns when they made their decisions.


METHODS
Grounded theory.


METHODS
The data were collected in Korea through semi-structured individual interviews in 1998-1999. A purposeful sample of 14 living kidney donors participated. All interviews were audiotaped and were transcribed verbatim. Constant comparative analysis was done using the NUD*IST4.0 software program.


RESULTS
"Wishing to give (a kidney)" was the core category integrating the six subcategories: motives, intervening conditions, inhibiting factors, facilitating factors, donor characteristics, and consequences. Two phases in the decision-making were the deliberation phase and the execution phase. Three decision-making types related to the intensity of "wishing to give" are: high intensity as voluntary type, medium as compromising type, and low as passive type.


CONCLUSIONS
The decision to donate a kidney was described as a highly complicated process involving not only the medical but also psychological, interpersonal, familial, and financial concerns.
Yi
Myungsun
M
College of Nursing, Seoul National University, 28 Yongon-Dong, Chongno-Gu, Seoul, 110-799, Korea. donam@plaza.snu.ac.kr
D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D007723:Korea; D019520:Living Donors / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009042:Motivation