Getting Used to Being a Patient: The Postoperative Experience of Living Liver Transplant Donors

Abstract

Context— Living donor liver transplant is a viable option for eligible persons in need of a liver transplant, but little is known about the hospitalization experience of patients undergoing hepatectomy for transplant donation. Objective— To explore the hospital experience of patients recovering from donor hepatectomy. Design— A qualitative interpretive descriptive design was used to understand the hospital experience of patients recovering from donor hepatectomy. Semistructured interviews, conducted before discharge, were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Coding was performed independently, then jointly by investigators to reach consensus on emerging themes. Setting— Major university hospital in the Northeastern United States. Sample— Adults (>18 years of age) whose primary language was English or Spanish and who could provide written informed consent. Results— The sample consisted of 15 participants who had a mean age of 34.6 years; half were women. Most were white and college educated. The relationship of the donors to recipients varied from immediate family to altruistic donors. “Getting used to being a patient” was the major theme that captured the patients' postoperative experience. Four subthemes explained the experience: regaining consciousness, all those tubes, expecting horrible pain, and feeling special and cared for. These were described in the context of an “amazing and impressive” transplant team. Conclusion— As healthy donors are getting used to being patients, these results provide clinicians with a deeper understanding of the transplant experience from the donor's perspective so that care can be tailored to meet their unique needs.