ArticleBMC health services research2009
Losing the genetic twin: donor grief after unsuccessful unrelated stem cell transplantation.
Article in BMC health services research, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Donors' Experiences of Information and Side-Effects During the First Year After Donation-A Swedish National Study.Journal of clinical apheresis · 2025Article
- Experiences and unmet needs of family members requested to donate haematopoietic stem cells to an ill relative: findings from a prospective multi-centre study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2021Article
- Article
- Donor safety: the role of the WMDA in ensuring the safety of volunteer unrelated donors: clinical and ethical considerations.Bone marrow transplantation · 2010Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStem cell transplantations from related or unrelated donors are used to cure leukaemia and other blood diseases. When a patient dies after an unsuccessful transplantation, interested unrelated donors are informed about the failure by their donor centre. Studies focussing on failed related donations show that donors undergo an intense grieving process. As there are only two investigations about reactions from unrelated donors, knowledge about their reactions is less comprehensive.
methodsWe conducted a prospective study of reactions of unrelated donors to the information of failed transplantations, subject to various communication methods (letter, phone). Questionnaires were sent to 395 unrelated donors who received the news of their recipients' deaths between November 2005 and August 2006. In addition, twelve in-depth interviews with selected donors were carried out.
resultsUnrelated donors were emotionally affected by the recipients' deaths, and it is appropriate to speak about a "Donor Grief" phenomenon, as the results of 325 returned questionnaires (return rate 82.3%) and in-depth interviews show. Donors demonstrated a range of feelings such as sadness, disappointment, grief, and helplessness. These feelings were often unexpectedly intense given the fact that the recipient was a stranger. Although the news caused grief, donors underlined that they nevertheless wanted to be informed. They preferred knowledge of the failure to uncertainty. The method of providing the information is only of secondary importance. Most donors favoured the way of communication they had experienced.
conclusionThis result indicates that both phone and letter communication can be justified. However, phone communication seems to be superior with respect to aspects of sensitivity. In spite of transplantation failure and the associated negative feelings, most donors were happy to have donated and would be willing to do so again. Our results underline the special responsibility of donor centres for informing and supporting unrelated volunteer donors in case their recipients have died.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.