Comparison of depression between kidney transplant recipients from live donors with cadavers in hospitals of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Kidney transplant surgery may impact various aspects of the life and results in individual and psychological problems. Receiving a kidney from a cadaver donor is associated with beliefs related to death of donor and with recipient’s survival. The aim of this study was to compare the rate of depression in patients receiving kidney from living donors with cadaveric donor kidney transplant، patients that were referred to nephrology clinics in hospitals of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2010.

A descriptive – comparative design was used. The sample of the study consisted of 60 patients receiving kidney from living donors and 60 cadaveric kidney transplantation attended to nephrology clinics in hospitals of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected by a demographic questionnaire and Beck depression Inventory. The reliability of this test was evaluated with test-retest and Pearson correlation test was 0. 95. Data were analyzed with SPSS software (version 13).

Depression scores in living kidney transplantation group were 11. 6±5. 7، and in the cadaveric group was 16. 4±9. 4. Independent t-test showed a significant difference between two groups scores of depression (P<0. 005).

The results showed a higher depression scores in kidney transplantation from cadaveric donors. Therefore it is recommended that efforts to detect and treat depression be included in the care of transplant patients before and after the surgery.