Health-related quality of life, clinical outcomes, and subjective experiences of parent donors of pediatric liver transplant recipients

Understanding the Long-Term Relationship in Dyads of Parental Live Liver Donors and Adolescent Young Adults

AIM

This qualitative study aimed to understand how dyads of parental donors and adolescent young adult recipients make sense of living donor liver transplantation from donation to adolescence.

DESIGN

This qualitative study used a focused ethnographic design.

METHODS

Twelve dyads of parental liver donors and their adolescent young adults were interviewed together using a semi-structured interview guide. Data was collected from April 16 to July 30, 2019. All of the interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. The theoretical framework of sensemaking was implemented. Thematic analysis was used, concepts were categorised, connections were made and references to the coding were conducted.

RESULTS

Thematic analysis contributed to the emergence of three categories: connections, reflections and life transitions, and the overarching theme of gratitude for being given or giving the gift of life.

CONCLUSION

The dyads' gratitude increased over time through the social process of sensemaking.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND PATIENTS

As living donor liver transplantation in the paediatric population enters its third decade, understanding how it shapes relationships in dyads of parental donors and adolescent young recipients over time can provide new insights for nurses who work in paediatric transplantation.

IMPACT

This study's findings address the current gap in the literature on the long-term impact of living donor liver transplant dyads and highlight the role of nurses who provide care and guidance at the time of evaluation and surgery to the ongoing support during the years that follow.

REPORTING METHOD

This qualitative study followed EQUATOR guidelines and adhered to the COREQ checklist for qualitative studies.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Predominantly Young Parental Living Liver Donors: A Cross-Sectional Study in China

Objective: The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of donors deserves attention and must be considered for a long time. Many of the published studies had small sample sizes, and research from mainland China, in particular, is scant. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the HRQoL of living liver donors and identify the influencing factors of the HRQoL in mainland China.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The data were collected from the liver transplantation center, the Tianjin First Center Hospital, China. Living liver donors older than 18 years and at a minimum of 1-month, post-donation was included. The HRQoL was evaluated using the Medical Outcome Study Short form 36 (SF-36). Sociodemographic and clinical-related variables, HRQoL status, and its potential impact factors were analyzed.

Results: A total of 382 living liver donors completed the survey. The median number of months post-donation was 25, and parental donors (99.2%) were the most frequent relationship. The majority of the participants (372, 97.4%) donated their left lateral lobes. Thirty-two (8.4%) donors suffered complications, and of them, 7 suffered from biliary leakage (1.8%), which was the most common one in this study. The physical functioning (PF), role–physical (RP), bodily pain (BP), general health (GH), social functioning (SF), role–emotional (RE), and mental health (MH) scores among the living liver donors were significantly better than those of the Chinese norms. Short-time post-donation [odds ratio (OR): 0.008; p < 0.001] and male recipients (OR:0.195; p = 0.024) were associated with the likelihood of a poor physical related quality of life.

Conclusions: Despite, in general, good HRQoL outcomes, we also believed that liver donation has an obvious influence on the physical functions of liver donors. More attention and long-term follow-ups are necessary for donors at higher risk based on identified influencing factors and correlates.