BACKGROUND: Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has recently emerged as an effective therapeutic alternative for patients with end-stage liver disease. In the meantime, the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the donors is becoming better appreciated. Here we aimed to review the current literature and summarize the effects of liver donation on the long-term HRQoL of living donors.
DATA SOURCES: A literature search of PubMed using "donors", "living donor liver transplantation", "health-related quality of life", and "donation" was performed, and all the information was collected.
RESULTS: The varied postoperative outcomes of liver donors are attributive to the different evaluation instruments used. On the whole, donors experienced good long-term physical and mental well-being with a few complaining of compromised quality of life due to mild symptoms or psychiatric problems. The psychosocial dimension has received increasing attention with the vocational, interpersonal and financial impact of liver donation on donors mostly studied.
CONCLUSIONS: Generally, donors have a good HRQoL after LDLT. Nevertheless, to achieve an ideal donor outcome, further work is necessary to minimize the negative effects as well as to incorporate recent progress in regenerative medicine.