Daily lives of pre-adolescents/adolescents and their parents after liver transplant

Aim This mixed methods study describes the post‐transplantation daily life of pre‐adolescents and adolescents who had undergone living donor liver transplantation and their parents. Methods Nine parent–child dyads were enrolled and all children were living donor liver transplant recipients. Three participants were pre‐adolescents and the six were adolescents. Five of the parents surveyed in this study had been the donors. Members of the parent–child dyads completed the questionnaires and participated in semistructured interviews. An inductive qualitative analysis of the interview data was conducted. Results The post‐transplantation daily life of the parent–child dyads had four distinct patterns: (i) pre‐adolescents who had undergone transplantation during infancy, who had no understanding of the transplant procedure, and whose care was managed by their parent(s) without any problems; (ii) adolescents who were aware that their physical condition had improved after the transplant and who managed and dealt with the situation on their own; (iii) adolescents who were dissatisfied with the transplantation and associated immunosuppression because transplant procedures were perceived as negative or because they could not remember the transplant procedure; and (iv) one participant could not be categorized because their liver function deteriorated post‐transplantation and they were registered for re‐transplantation. Patterns were identified that characterized the post‐transplantation daily life of pre‐adolescents/adolescents who underwent liver transplantation, and that of their parents. Further research for post‐transplantation parent–child dyads is warranted.