Level and Quality of Life of Families of Potential Organ Donors and Receivers

Introduction: Organ transplantation is a procedure that has the potential to extend the life expectancy of people experiencing end-stage organ failure. Patients undergoing the transplant procedure have been shown to have sig- nificant problems with their quality of life. The effect of the transplant procedure on the quality of life of the families (caregivers) of the patients has been given a smaller extent. Some research has highlighted the impact that transplan- tation can have on patients’ caregivers, both mentally and physically.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life of the families of potential donors and recipients of organs and to investigate the demographic factors that affect their level of quality of life.

Methodology: For this purpose, a simultaneous survey was conducted on a sample of 50 families (caregivers) (30 women and 20 men) of Potential Donors and Organ Receivers. The Medical Outcomes Study - Short Form 12 (SF-12) tool was used to assess their quality of life.

Results: The results of the research confirmed that the families of Potential Donors and Recipients of Organs have moderate to poor quality of life both in the dimension of mental health and in the dimension of physical health. Im- portant factors that differentiate the level of quality of life are the age and the educational background of the families (caregivers). Quality of life related to physical (F=17.81, p<0.01) and mental (F=7.72, p<0.01) health varies significantly with age. Compulsory education graduates (Mean=31.87, SD=8.63) had significantly worse quality of life in the phys- ical health dimension than higher education graduates (Mean=46.55, SD=7.44), p <0.01).

Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that the quality of life of the families (caregivers) is impaired after the transplant procedure. In addition, this burden has been shown to be greater for older caregivers and lower the families (caregivers). Further studies are needed to investigate factors that affect the quality of life of the families (caregivers).