Informed consent for live liver donors: A qualitative, prospective study.

Area of Science:

• Transplantation Medicine
• Surgical Oncology
• Informed Consent Research

Background:

• Adult-to-adult live donor liver transplantation (LDLT) carries significant risks for donors without direct health benefits.
• Ensuring donor autonomy via robust informed consent is paramount in LDLT procedures.
• Assessing live donor (LD) comprehension, information needs, and risk perception is critical.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate live liver donors' comprehension of information provided during the informed consent process.
• To identify specific information needs and risk perceptions of live liver donors.
• To analyze demographic factors influencing comprehension and perception in live liver donation.

Main Methods:

• Conducted semi-structured interviews with live liver donors post-evaluation and informed consent.
• Utilized Likert scales to measure understanding across various informed consent domains.
• Performed thematic analysis on open-ended interview responses to identify key themes.

Main Results:

• While 90% felt informed, only 66% demonstrated high comprehension; 40% struggled with medical terminology.
• Key information needs included donor complication rates (67%), procedure details (57%), and preparation (43%).
• A majority (83%) perceived donation risks as minimal, indicating potential underestimation of risks.

Conclusions:

• Live liver donors perceive adequate information but exhibit inadequate comprehension, highlighting a gap in informed consent.
• Informed consent may be more effective for procedural preparation than for complex decision-making.
• Enhancing information clarity and accessibility is crucial for optimizing informed consent in LDLT.