Structured introduction of retroperitoneoscopic donor nephrectomy provides a high level of safety and reduces the physical burden for the donor compared to an anterior mini incision: A cohort study.

Introduction: A major goal in living donor kidney transplantation is to reduce the physical burden for the donor. Key-hole surgery for donor nephrectomy is a safe procedure, but concerns regarding donor safety during the learning phase might be the reason for surgeons' reluctance to change to a minimal invasive approach.

Material And Methods: We analyzed the first 100 retroperitoneoscopic donor nephrectomies (RPDN) performed at our institution and compared the results to the last 50 mini incision donor nephrectomies (MIDN) regarding donor and recipient outcome, and analyzed the learning curves of RPDN.

Fatigue in pediatric liver transplant recipients and its impact on their quality of life.

The aim of the study was to investigate the occurrence of fatigue in 100 pediatric liver transplant recipients aged 2-18 years and its impact on their health-related quality of life (HRQL). HRQL and fatigue were measured using the PedsQL 4.0 Inventory and the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale, which encompasses three subscales: general fatigue, sleep/rest fatigue, and cognitive fatigue.

Anterior vertical mini-incision vs. retroperitoneoscopic nephrectomy in living kidney donation: a prospective study on donors' quality of life and clinical outcome.

Background: A fundamental goal in living kidney donation (LKD) is to maximize donor safety while minimizing post-operative impairments. We evaluated clinical outcome and health-related quality of life (QOL) comparing anterior vertical mini-incision donor nephrectomy (MIDN) and retroperitoneoscopic donor nephrectomy (RPDN).

Methods: Thirty-eight MIDN and 45 RPDN donors were analyzed.

Donor quality of life up to two years after living donor liver transplantation: a prospective study.

Background: There is a lack of longer-term prospective data on living liver donors' quality of life (QOL). This is the first prospective study examining QOL up to 2 years after donation.

Methods: A consecutive sample of living donors (n=40) was compared with a sample of potential donors (n=27) with respect to QOL, anxiety, and depression.

A prospective study on living related kidney donors' quality of life in the first year: choosing appropriate reference data.

Prospective studies on living kidney donors' quality of life (QoL) are still rare. Most existing studies compare healthy donors with the general population, including subjects with diseases. This is the first prospective study comparing living donors' QoL with reference data of both the general population and healthy individuals.

Influence of kinship on donors' mental burden in living donor liver transplantation.

In the context of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), German transplantation law stipulates that donor candidates should primarily be relatives of the recipients or persons with distinct and close relationships. In this study, we investigated the influence of the relationship between the donor and the recipient on the donor's emotional strain before transplantation. Donors were categorized according to the following subgroups: (1) parents donating for their children, (2) children donating for their parents, (3) siblings, (4) spouses, (5) other relatives, and (6) nonrelatives.

Mental and physical quality of life in actual living liver donors versus potential living liver donors: a prospective, controlled, multicenter study.

In a quasi-experimental design, we investigated the quality of life (QOL) in actual liver donors (n = 43) and potential liver donors (n = 33) before and 3 months after liver transplantation. This is the first study in this field combining a prospective design with an adequate control group. Potential donors served as a control group because they also had a relative in need of a liver transplant and were as emotionally involved with the recipient as actual donors, but they were not subjected to the donor operation.

Sense of coherence and social support predict living liver donors' emotional stress prior to living-donor liver transplantation.

The protection of the donors from physical or emotional harm has been a fundamental principle in living-donor liver donation from the beginning. Psychosomatic donor evaluation aims at the selection of eligible donors and the screening and exclusion of psychiatrically vulnerable donors. As clinical interviews may include subjective biases, efforts should be made to establish objective criteria for donor assessment.

The factorial structure of the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ).

Objective: The Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ) is a disease-specific instrument designed to assess health-related quality of life in patients with chronic liver disease. The aim of this paper is to present the psychometric properties of a German version of this questionnaire. A special focus is placed on the analysis of the CLDQ's factorial structure.

Psychological strain in urgent indications for living donor liver transplantation.

The ethical soundness of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in urgent indications is still under discussion. The aim of the survey was to investigate the psychological distress of donors in cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or acute liver failure (ALF). In a prospective multicenter study (n = 123), health-related quality of life (QOL), anxiety, and depression were measured.

Psychosocial aspects of pediatric living donor liver transplantation.

While the medical aspects of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) have been investigated to a comparatively large degree, only in recent years have psychosocial aspects like donors' quality of life and attitude towards living donation been dealt with. In the course of a retrospective study, we examined 36 pediatric living liver donors at an average of 4.5 +/- 2.