title: Being a haematopoietic stem cell donor for a sick sibling: Adult donors' experiences prior to donation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a lack of knowledge about sibling stem cell donors' experiences pre-donation and the waiting period before the donation might have been long. The donors and their corresponding sibling recipients were simultaneously included in two different interview studies. The results from the recipient study have been presented in a separate paper.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim was to explore the experiences of being a stem cell donor for a sibling, prior to donation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten adult sibling donors were interviewed prior to stem cell donation. The interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and subjected to qualitative content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The main theme Being a cog in a big wheel describes the complex process of being a sibling donor prior to donation, covering a mixture of emotions and thoughts. The four subthemes Being available, Being anxious, Being concerned and Being obliged cover the various experiences. The sibling donors' experiences are influenced by the quality of the relationship with the sick sibling.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sibling stem cell donors go through a complex process once they have accidentally got involved in. They have been asked to become a donor; it was not a voluntary choice. In caring for sibling stem cell donors the nurses should be aware of the complexity of the process they experience and take into consideration their personal situation and needs. Providing optimal care for both sibling donors and their corresponding recipients is a challenge, and further improvement and exploration are needed.
authors: Department of Haematology, Skåne University Hospital, S-221 85 Lund, Sweden; Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, S-205 06 Malmö, Sweden. Electronic address: annika.kisch@mah.se.
authors: Annika
authors: A
authors: Kisch
authors: Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, S-205 06 Malmö, Sweden. Electronic address: ingrid.bolmsjo@mah.se.
authors: Ingrid
authors: I
authors: Bolmsjö
authors: Department of Haematology, Skåne University Hospital, S-221 85 Lund, Sweden. Electronic address: stig.lenhoff@skane.se.
authors: Stig
authors: S
authors: Lenhoff
authors: Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, S-205 06 Malmö, Sweden. Electronic address: mariette.bengtsson@mah.se.
authors: Mariette
authors: M
authors: Bengtsson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D019520:Living Donors / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013548:Sweden; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Allogeneic stem cell transplantation; Donors' experiences; Qualitative content analysis; Sibling stem cell donor