Patterns of Personality in Living Kidney Donors

The decision to undergo living donor transplantation determines a particular condition characterized by strong mental and emotional anguish, both for the patient and his family. Many recent studies showed the concern of living donors who, rather than being driven by altruistic reasons, meet the decision to donate with ambivalence, liabilities, and/or in response to family pressures. The aim of this study was to analyze the more frequently encountered personality variables in a sample of potential kidney living donors, together with any psychological variables that can express possible risks of an impulsive decision and/or poorly processed from a cognitive and emotional point of view.

We examined 32 potential kidney donors. The personality study was performed using The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III. The psychic symptoms were studied through the Symptom Checklist-90-R. The quality of life was studied through the Complete Form Health Survey (SF-36).

The study showed that the ability to express free and therefore invalid consent, in the role of donor, is an expression of specific personality patterns, cognitive, emotional aspects and interpersonal experiences.

The psychological-psychiatric evaluation of potential donors is fundamental to certify the state of mental health and psychological well-being, an indispensable prerequisite for the donation.