Psychological Outcomes in a Cohort of Portuguese Living Kidney Donors

The psychosocial aspects of living kidney donation remain a challenge nowadays. We sought to evaluate the psychological outcomes of donation in a cohort of living kidney donors (LKDs).

LKDs who underwent nephrectomy from January 2018 to December 2019 completed a predonation psychosocial assessment followed by a postdonation evaluation using 36-Item Short Form (SF-36) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale forms in May 2022. Mean scores were compared before and after the donation using the paired t-test. Peason's correlation tested the relationship between anxiety and depression scores and relevant variables.

Forty-four LKDs were included. Most were female (68.2%), aged 47.3 ± 10.3 years, 52.3% were genetically related, and 63.6% were compatible and donated directly to their recipients. Overall, we observed a statistically significant reduction postdonation in various components of SF-36: physical functioning (P = .037), bodily pain (P = .003), vitality (P = .023), social functioning (P = .023), and mental health (P = .006). Only LKDs who experienced stressful life events (n = 19), showed significant reductions in some SF-36 domains: physical functioning (P = .012), physical role (P = .028), bodily pain (P = .006), and mental health (P = .009). Depression scores increased significantly postdonation (P = .029) but lacked clinical significance. Additionally, there was a positive and significant correlation between predonation depression scores and postdonation anxiety levels postdonation.

Living donation is usually a safe procedure regarding psychosocial aspects. Nonetheless, some LKDs, particularly those with medical complications or stressful live events, may face adverse emotional impacts, Therefore, transplant professionals must screen, assess, and provide psychosocial support before and after donation.