Anxiety and Depression among Families of Deceased Donors in China

IntroductIon There is consensus that organ transplantation is an optimal way to address organ failure, and organ donation is becoming increasingly accepted. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to the families of deceased donors, especially with respect to anxiety and depression. In China, where traditional values count, particularly Confucianism, which emphasizes that the body should be kept intact after death out of respect,[1] anxiety or depression may be more prevalent in the families of deceased donors. A meta‐analytic review showed that irritable bowel syndrome, nonulcer dyspepsia, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome were related to anxiety and depression.[2] Whether donor families suffer anxiety or depression and what effects may result remain unknown. Social support is known to be a moderator of life stress,[3] but whether donor families possess comparative social support remains unclear. Therefore, we designed a study, and potential risk factors and correlations among social support, anxiety, and depression were then analyzed.