Brief Article
Copyright ©2012 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2012; 18(2): 182-187
Published online Jan 14, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i2.182
Quality of life and psychological outcome of donors after living donor liver transplantation
Shu-Guang Jin, Bo Xiang, Lu-Nan Yan, Zhe-Yu Chen, Jia-Ying Yang, Ming-Qing Xu, Wen-Tao Wang
Shu-Guang Jin, Bo Xiang, Department of Pediatric Surgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
Lu-Nan Yan, Zhe-Yu Chen, Jia-Ying Yang, Ming-Qing Xu, Wen-Tao Wang, Department of Liver and Vascular Surgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Jin SG and Yan LN designed research; Jin SG, Xiang B, Xu MQ and Wang WT collected and analyzed data; Jin SG, Chen ZY and Yang JY wrote the paper; and Jin SG is the guarantor.
Supported by National Science and Technology Key Projects, No. 2008ZX10002-026
Correspondence to: Shu-Guang Jin, MD, Department of Pediatric Surgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China. shgjin2003@yahoo.com.cn
Telephone: +86-28-85422456 Fax: +86-28-85422456
Received: May 19, 2011
Revised: July 11, 2011
Accepted: July 18, 2011
Published online: January 14, 2012
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the health related quality of life (HRQoL) and psychological outcome of donors after living donor liver transplantation.

METHODS: Participants were 92 consecutive liver transplant donors who underwent hepatectomy without middle hepatic vein at West China Hospital of Sichuan University between January 2007 and September 2010. HRQoL was measured using the Chinese version of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36), and psychological symptoms were measured using the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Data collected from donors were compared to previously published data from the general population. Clinical and demographic data were collected from medical records and questionnaires.

RESULTS: The general health score of the SF-36 was significantly lower in females (59.78 ± 12.25) than in males (75.83 ± 22.09). Donors more than 40 years old scored higher in social functioning (85.71 ± 14.59) and mental health (82.61 ± 20.00) than those younger than 40 (75.00 ± 12.13, 68.89 ± 12.98; social functioning and mental health, respectively). Donors who had surgery more than two years prior to the study scored highest in physical functioning (P = 0.001) and bodily pain (P = 0.042) while those less than one year from surgery scored lowest. The health of the liver recipient significantly influenced the general health (P = 0.042), social functioning (P = 0.010), and role-emotional (P = 0.028) of donors. Donors with full-time employment scored highest in role-physical (P = 0.005), vitality (P = 0.001), social functioning (P = 0.016), mental health (P < 0.001), the physical component summary scale (P < 0.001), and the mental component summary scale (MCS) (P < 0.001). Psychological measures indicated that donors were healthier than the general population in obsessive-compulsive behavior, interpersonal sensitivity, phobic anxiety, and paranoid ideation. The MCS of the SF-36 was significantly correlated with most symptom scores of the SCL-90-R.

CONCLUSION: HRQoL and psychological outcome were favorable in living liver transplant donors after donation. Specifically, gender, age, time since operation, recipient health condition, and employment after donation, influenced postoperative quality of life.

Keywords: Health related quality of life; Psychology; Living donor liver transplantation; Donor