The Psychological Impact of Organ Transplants in Children

Each year, thousands of Americans undergo organ transplants with many of these patients involving children. As a parent of a pediatric organ transplant patient, it is important to understand the unique dynamics organ transplant surgery may have upon a child.

Organ transplants involve more than just a physical impact to the life of the patient. In addition to physical impairment, organ transplant patients also experience emotional and psychological complications. For children, especially, these spectrums of health complications can often lead to a delayed in healing following the organ transplant surgery.

As part of this additional support, pediatric organ transplant patients will require more frequent assistance with feeding, mobility and will even need entertainment to distract them from the boredom commonly associated with the organ transplant recovery process.

Feeding is one of the crucial areas of concern for pediatric organ transplant patients especially those who are still breastfeeding. Because organ transplant surgery often requires limited feeding by breast, pediatric organ transplant patients often suffer additional emotional and psychological stress when feed by feeding tube or IV only.

In contrast, children who are approaching puberty, and undergo an organ transplant, will often experience a different type of psychological or emotional trauma as they experience a change in body image and appearance following a transplant surgery. Where many adolescents may have experienced complications associated with a failing organ, i.e. acne, bloating, hair loss, weight loss or weight gain, the transplant may quickly attribute to a change in these body image issues, leaving many teenagers to cope with a new emotional dynamic.