Quality of life before and after heart, lung and liver transplantation

To compare the quality of life of heart, lung and liver transplant patients in New Zealand before and after transplantation and in comparison with New Zealand normative data for the general population.

All surviving transplant recipients and patients on the waiting list for a transplant from the Heart and Lung Transplant Unit at Green Lane Hospital and the New Zealand Liver Transplant Unit at Auckland Hospital were invited to participate in this study. 72% of the pre-transplant patients and 75% of the post-transplant patients completed a questionnaire, which included a standardised measure of quality of life - the MOS Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36).

Post-transplant patients reported significantly higher levels of physical and psychological functioning compared with pre-transplant patients. When compared with New Zealand normative data, post-transplant patients had poorer physical functioning but higher levels of psychological wellbeing and vitality. Time since transplant and the type of organ transplant were generally unrelated to quality of life.

These data suggest that patients experience a dramatic improvement in quality of life following transplant, irrespective of the nature of the transplanted organ. These gains appear to be relatively independent of time since transplant.