Pre-operative Assessment of Psychological Characteristics and Mood States in Living Donor Kidney and Liver Transplantation

• LDLT recipients exhibited depressive mood before transplantation.
• LDLT recipients also had low AC scores on the TEG.
• Non-adherence and post-operative depression in LDLT recipients should be cared.

BackgroundPast studies have indicated that psychological problems in both transplant recipients and donors increase during the pre-operative period. However, few studies have evaluated the pre-operative psychological status of both the recipient and the donor.MethodsThis study included the donors and recipients of 36 adult living donor kidney transplants (LDKT) and 12 adult living donor liver transplants (LDLT) between January 2012 and December 2014. Their personalities were assessed using the Tokyo University Egogram (TEG) and the Yatabe-Guilford Personality Inventory (Y-G), while their mood states just before transplantation were evaluated via the Profile of Mood States (POMS).ResultsOn the TEG, the mean Adapted Child (AC) score of the LDLT recipient group was significantly lower than that of the LDKT recipient group. On the Y-G, no differences in the distribution of the five personality types were recognized among the four groups. POMS depression scores in the LDLT recipient group were significantly higher compared with the other groups.ConclusionLDLT recipients exhibited a depressive mood just before transplantation, and also had a low AC score. Therefore, clinicians should pay careful attention to potential medical non-adherence and post-operative depression in LDLT recipients. Based on these pre-operative assessments of personality and mood states, the transplant team should include post-operative care to support the quality of life of the recipients as well as the donors.