Attitude Toward Related Living Donation Among Patients on Waiting List for Liver Transplantation

Abstract Introduction In liver transplantation, living donation shows better and better results. However, rates of living liver donation (LLD) are low. Objective To analyze the attitude towards LLD among patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation. Method Study population: Patients included in the waiting list for liver transplantation who are not in code 0 and do not present with encephalopathy above grade I. Protocol: After being included in the waiting list, they are informed of the study and they are cited in the Psychology Consultation. Instruments: attitude questionnaire towards LLD, carried out in the Psychological Care consultation. Results Of the 147 patients included in the waiting list, 112 fulfilled the inclusion criteria in the study. After being cited in the consultation, 100% of respondents are in favor of living liver donation. However, when considering the related LLD, 80% of the respondents indicated that they would not accept a living donation from a family member and therefore did not want to complete the questionnaire. Of the remaining 20% who completed the study, 11% would accept it from any family member, 8% only from some family members (mainly excluding children and grandchildren), and the remaining 1% would accept it but excluded all their family members. Conclusion Currently, there is a disconnect between patients' intentions in favor of living liver donation and the real attitude when they are on the waiting list and related living donation is raised.