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Abstract
Background
There are several psychosocial and ethical issues surrounding the decision to be a living kidney donor. The present study aimed to determine the perceptions of psychosocial and ethical issues that living kidney donors may have, and analyze their psychological characteristics.
Methods
Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 donors. Thematic analysis was then performed to categorize the thematic elements of the transcripts. All procedures were approved by the relevant review board.
Results
Four main categories were identified: Awareness of family dynamics, barriers to a proper understanding, contrasting psychological effects of recipient presence in clinical practice, insufficient information explained in informed consent.
Conclusion
Donors felt that they took on the “role as a care giver” for the recipient and were less aware of themselves as patients. This is a new concept that has not been shown in previous studies. Donors exist within the recipient and family, and the range of their autonomy may go beyond the traditional concept of autonomy and be rooted in relational autonomy. This study suggested that medical treatment in the presence of the recipient promotes the relational autonomy of the donor.
Disclosure statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data availability statement
The data supporting the findings of this study are available upon request from the corresponding author, TY. The data have not been made publicly available due to certain restrictions (i.e., containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants).
Acknowledgements, avoiding identifying any of the authors prior to peer review