Psychological Aspects of Living Donor Kidney Transplantation

Deciding between the dialysis and kidney transplantation is very delicate and requires multi-phase discussions with the patient and his family. Transplantation carries along numerous psychological implications affecting both, the kidney donor and the kidney recipient. The attitude towards transplantation differ in relation to the age, education level and character features of the patient. The starting of the transplantation procedure is paradoxically both complicated and facilitated but the fact that there is always a medical alternative in the form of hemodialysis. The psychological adaptation of the donor and the recipient to transplantation occasionally actualizes intrapsychological conflicts, which should be studied and recognized in time. Considering the significant psycho-sociological implications in all its stages, the method of transplantation soon indicates the need for a psychiatrist as a member of a multidisciplinary team.