Psychological adjustment of adult bone marrow transplant donors whose recipient survives

The psychosocial and psychiatric impact of donating bone marrow (BM) has received little study. This mail questionnaire study of bone marrow donors whose recipient had survived more than one year post-BMT was undertaken to document the psychosocial consequences of donation on "successful" BM donors. Demographic, mood state, self-esteem, current life satisfaction, and donor-recipient relationship characteristics, donor-perceived approval from family members, and donor attitudes about BM donation were studied. A companion study of BM recipients was also performed to provide comparative data on the psychosocial status of donors and recipients. As a group BM donors manifested little emotional distress, high self-esteem, and a high degree of current life satisfaction. Donors reported little change in their relationships with their recipients since the BMT. However the current quality of their relationships with their recipients was highly correlated with several recipient health status and psychosocial variables, suggesting that recipient deterioration might significantly adversely impact donor psychosocial status. From 10% to 20% of donors indicated at least some negative consequences of donating.