Introduction: Living donor kidney transplantation remains the gold standard treatment for end-stage renal failure. There is an assumption amongst the transplant community that the physical benefits are met with a corresponding psychological benefit, however there is very little within the recent literature that has focussed specifically on quantifying this. The aim of this study was to measure how recipients of living donor kidney transplants benefit psychosocially from transplantation.

Methods: A sample of living kidney donor recipients were asked to complete a questionnaire pre-operatively, and 3 and 12 months after transplantation. The questionnaire contained validated measures of wellbeing, distress, mood, stress, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), life satisfaction, self-esteem and anxiety.

Results: 51 recipients participated in the study (mean age: 42.9yrs, SD 14.7). Wellbeing, distress and HRQoL scores all improved significantly over the first year after transplantation (p<0.001, p<0.001 and p=0.001, respectively). For each measure the significant difference occurred between pre-operative and 3 month scores. Very little change was demonstrated between 3 and 12 months (p>0.05 for all measures). Mood scores steadily improved over the 3 time points (2.0 vs. 1.0 vs. 0.0; p=0.037). Stress, anxiety, life-satisfaction and self-esteem scores did not improve significantly over the first year after transplantation (p=0.368; p=0.096; p=0.105; p=0.396, respectively). There was no difference in outcomes between those who were on dialysis prior to transplantation and those who were transplanted pre-emptively.

Discussion: This study has demonstrated that benefit following kidney transplantation is quantifiable by improvements in wellbeing, distress, HRQoL and mood; all of which occur within the short-term post-operative period. Stress, anxiety, life-satisfaction and self-esteem scores do not improve. This may reflect the ongoing burden of chronic illness, such as multiple hospital visits, reliance on medications and the threat of complications and transplant failure.

CITATION INFORMATION: Maple H, Chilcot J, Weinman J, Mamode N. Living Donor Kidney Transplantation: How Do Recipients Benefit Psychologically? Am J Transplant. 2016;16 (suppl 3).

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