Sexual Performance Before and After Organ Transplantation

Abstract

Organ transplantation has been shown to improve survivability for a variety of chronic disease conditions where extirpation of the diseased organ can be replaced by a normal functioning organ. Chronic disease affects multiple spheres of functioning, including sexuality. Not surprisingly, both sexual performance and satisfaction are disrupted in a large majority of patients with chronic disease, particularly those where the disease has fatal consequences. No single profile emerges regarding sexual performance or satisfaction in patients having chronic disease, but rather the particular manifestations of sexual dysfunction depend on a variety of medical and psychosocial parameters outlined in this discussion. Similarly, the same general conclusion can be drawn regarding sexual adjustment and performance following organ transplantation. One conclusion that can be drawn, which appears to have consensus among the professional community, is that sexuality is only one component of complex processes comprising life-quality. The degree to which sexual performance and satisfaction are disrupted in patients before or after transplantation surgery is consistent with disruptions in other spheres of life functioning. Currently, there are standardized assessment procedures for the objective and comprehensive evaluation of sexuality. Interventions for sexual-related problems have also been developed. There is, thus, every reason to believe that these problems, where manifest, can be effectively managed. However, because the medical community has historically focused primarily on the medical sequelae of transplantation, education is required to expand their understanding and appreciation of psychosocial processes.