Symptoms of pain and depression in related marrow donors: changes after transplant.

Related or unrelated histocompatible marrow donors make it possible to offer hematopoietic stem cell transplants, the second most frequent solid organ transplant performed in the United States. About 20%-30% of donors are related to the recipient. Despite their importance, relatively little is known about related donors. The purpose of this prospective study is to describe changes in pain and depressive symptoms in 23 related marrow donors before and after marrow donation. Approximately 6 months after marrow donation, related marrow donors whose recipients died had significantly higher Beck Depression Inventory scores than did donors whose related recipients were living.