Quality of life after kidney transplantation in adolescence

After a general reflection on the concept of quality of life in medicine, and an outline of the psychological problems relating to kidney transplantation, we report the main results of a prospective study (8 French CHU) involving 40 young people awaiting a kidney graft. The results for quality of life (before and 6 and 18 months after the transplant) are analyzed in the light of the adolescent process. While this study confirms that young kidney graft patients generally have good quality of life, no quantitative parameter or score can fully reflect this aspect or replace interviews with the teenager and his or her family. Only face-to-face meetings canfully explore the underlying situation. When it come to quality of life, it is the transplant patient and not the doctor who is the true expert.