The Concept of Self and Emotional Involvement in Living Kidney Donation: A Psychometric Investigation C. De Pasquale, M. Veroux, D. Corona, N. Sinagra, A. Giaquinta, D. Zerbo, S. Cimino, M. Gagliano, G. Giuffrida, P. Veroux, and M.L. Pistorio ABSTRACT Objective. The aim of our study was to analyze, from a psychological point of view, living kidney donor personality, examining a sample of 18 living kidney donors. Patients and methods. The personality study was performed using The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III in 18 potential kidney donors, 6 of whom were genetically and 12 emotionally related individuals. Results. Our study showed the presence of narcissistic, histrionic, and obsessive- compulsive personality traits in living kidney donors. Conclusions. It is necessary to explore the development of motivation for living donation in order to achieve and maintain a harmonious relationship with the recipient while respecting their individuality. T RANSPLANTATION from living donors can help to overcome the gap between the number of organs available and the need for kidney and liver trans- plantations. 1e3 The number of people awaiting trans- plantation has increased exponentially, while the deceased donor pool has grown at a much smaller rate. Innovative surgical techniques are available to make transplantation from living donors not only possible, but also the most likely source of organs for many patients lingering on waiting lists. 4 However, living organ donation has raised considerable controversy. As the ratio of demand to supply continues to increase, there will be more living donors, more requests for people to become living donors, and more ethical concerns with which to contend. 5 While most of these issues must be discussed and decided within the transplant community as a whole, many issues that pertain to the evaluation process deserve careful consideration by specialists in psychosocial aspects of transplantation. 6,7 Experience with living donation has revealed the discrepancy between the current “frustrating” sickness of the person awaiting a transplantation and the “desired” state of health that can be achieved through the donor’s action. Since affective states are associated with cognitive representations of their experiences, donors on their “saving” path are influenced by their personality traits and the emotional states that guide their behavior. 7e11 The aim of our study was therefore to analyze, from a psychological point of view, 18 living kidney donor’s personalities. PATIENTS AND METHODS During the evaluation for living kidney donation eligibility, we examined 18 potential kidney donors, among whom 6 were geneti- cally related (4 mother to child, 2 father to child), and 12 emotionally related (8 wives to husbands, 4 husbands to wives) individuals. Their overall mean age was 51.77 years. The psychological examination excluded the presence of a psychiatric disorder or the use of drugs that can influence cognitive and emotional aspects. The personality study was performed using The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III, (MCMI-III) which contains 28 scales broken down into 24 clinical scales (14 personality and 10 clinical syndrome scales) that are organized by severity together with 4 modifying indices to determine a subject’s response style and detect random responses; namely Disclosure, Desirability, Debasement, and Invalidity Scales. Fourteen personality disorder scales corresponded to Axis II diagnoses of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disor- ders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV TR). They describe more pervasive conditions. They are broken down further into 11 basic clinical personality patterns (Scales 1-8B) and 3 severe From the Vascular Surgery and Organ Transplant Unit, Department of Surgery, Transplantation and Advanced Tech- nologies, University Hospital of Catania, Italy. Address reprint requests to Massimiliano Veroux, MD, PhD, Vascular Surgery and Organ Transplant Unit, Department of Surgery, Transplantation and Advanced Technologies, University Hospital of Catania, Via Santa Sofia, 84, 95123 Catania, Italy. E-mail: veroux@unict.it 0041-1345/13/$esee front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.transproceed.2013.08.002 ª 2013 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010-1710 2604 Transplantation Proceedings, 45, 2604e2606 (2013)