Satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms in living organ donors and non‐donors: New insights from the National Living Donor Assistance Center

Background Previous studies indicate there may be psychological consequences of being unable to serve as a living donor, but these have not been explored in a large national cohort of low‐income individuals who initiated living donor evaluation in US transplant centers. Methods Using data from 6574 National Living Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC) participants (November 1, 2007‐December 31, 2018), we utilized a cross‐sectional study design to evaluate short‐term depressive symptoms and satisfaction with life in living donors and non‐donors (those who were declined or withdrew from evaluation) using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the PHQ‐8, with and without risk adjustment using linear regression. Results National Living Donor Assistance Center participants originated from 207 US transplant centers. 52% of NLDAC participants responded to the survey (n = 3423; donors = 2848 (58.6% of all donors), non‐donors = 575 (33.5% of all non‐donors); ncenters = 201)). Respondents were significantly older, more likely to be female, white, non‐Hispanic, married, more educated, more full‐time employed, and more likely to be unrelated to the recipient vs non‐respondents (all, P