Assessment of health-related quality of life in living kidney donors.

The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is frequently applied to assess surgical or other treatment modalities. We evaluated the HRQoL of 57 kidney donors for comparison with 120 age-and sex-matched healthy individuals and 52 patients who underwent nephrectomy due to a renal tumor. The Short Form-36 (SF-36), Giessen Subjective Complaints List (GBB-24), and Zerssen's Mood Scale (Bf-S) questionnaires were used for this purpose. The evaluation procedure was completely anonymous and free of charge for all respondents. The mean scores of various domains calculated for all three questionnaires were compared between the groups. In three of eight SF-36 items--"social function," "bodily pain," and "vitality"--donors scored significantly better than the controls and patients. In all five GBB-24 items, donors scored higher than controls and patients. For "gastric complaints," the difference was significant. The mood analysis showed significant differences between the groups in favor of donors. The HRQoL of living kidney donors was not different from that of healthy subjects and significantly better than the HRQoL of urologic patients after nephrectomy. Donors should be monitored for both physical and psychosocial outcomes of the procedure. Further prospective studies are needed to facilitate potential donors' understanding of the complex issues related to organ donation.