title: Experience of donation and quality of life in living kidney and liver donors.
abstract: Italian guidelines on living donation demand that we ascertain the donor's free and informed consent. Assessments to do so have to be conducted by an independent 'third party' who has nothing to do with the medical team treating the recipient. From February 2002 to December 2006, the Veneto Regional Authority's Third Party Commission evaluated 201 living liver and kidney donors. A sample of these were contacted after their surgery to assess their living donation experience and quality of life (QoL); 81 were eligible for the assessment and 69 (85.2%) responded. All donors involved in the study completed an anonymous document that included the SF-36 and a questionnaire on their donation experience. The majority (96%) of the sample expressed a positive global opinion of the experience. We concluded that the donation had positive effects on their QoL and that family support had a fundamental influence on their general well-being, and their psychic balance in particular. Some crucial issues emerged, however, i.e. 11% of donors judged the information received before the operation inadequate, 17% reported a subjective perception of bodily changes after the operation and 14% were concerned about their current health: these findings emphasize the importance of informing potential donors thoroughly before they submit to surgery.
authors.affiliation: Centro Regionale per i Trapianti del Veneto, Azienda Ospedaliera di Padova, Padova, Italy. alessandra.feltrin@sanita.padova.it
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Feltrin
authors.forename: Renzo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pegoraro
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rago
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Benciolini
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pasquato
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Frasson
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Buizza
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ermani
authors.forename: Giampietro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rupolo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D019520:Living Donors / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement