| Theme | Debatable Issues in Living-Donor Liver Transplantation | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Psychiatric Problems with Donor in Living-Donor Liver Transplantation | |
| Publish Date | 2005/11 | |
| Author | Shun'ichi Noma | Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University |
| Author | Akiko Hayashi | Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University |
| Author | Takuji Hayashi | Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University |
| [ Summary ] | Living donor liver transplantation has been established as one of the therapies for end-stage liver diseases. Although the vast majority of donors indeed make satisfactory progress, some donors face various psychosocial problems before and after the operation. Donors have a tendency to indicate a high anxiety level preoperatively. This may result from the stress of becoming a donor because some donors, in fact, passively consent to the donation of a part of their liver. In the process of donor selection conflicts among family members sometimes come to the surface. Postoperatively, mental states of the donor depend on progress of the recipient (“Siamese twin's effect”), while some donors feel their donation be disappointing in spite of the recipients' good condition (“donor's paradoxical psychiatric syndrome”). Furthermore, the sense of guilt that non-donors may have should also be considered. In the background of these psychosocial problems lies the theme of whether how much the donor may autonomously take part in living-donor liver transplantation. It is expected that a psychosocial support system for donors will be established. |
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