The relationship between spiritual well-being, state anxiety, and psychological resilience among cross-matched liver transplant donors in Turkey

AIM: This study aims to examine the relationship between spiritual well-being, anxiety, and psychological resilience in cross-matched liver transplant donors. It contributes to the international literature on anxiety, spiritual well-being, and psychological resilience in individuals who donate their organs by participating in the cross-matched system as donors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 116 donors participating in the cross-matching system at a liver transplant institute in a university hospital in Turkey. Data were collected using the FACIT-Sp Spiritual Well-Being Scale, the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-I), and the Brief Psychological Resilience Scale (BPRS). Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman's correlation and regression analysis. RESULTS: Donors demonstrated high levels of spiritual well-being, moderate levels of psychological resilience, and high levels of anxiety. A statistically significant positive association was found between spiritual well-being and psychological resilience (r = 0.381, p < 0.05). Significant positive associations were also observed between psychological resilience and the meaning, peace, and faith subdimensions of spiritual well-being (p < 0.05). No significant association was found between spiritual well-being and anxiety. Despite high spiritual well-being, donors reported elevated anxiety levels, which may reflect the inherently stressful and uncertain nature of the cross-matched transplantation process rather than the influence of individual spiritual resources alone. CONCLUSION: Cross-matched liver transplant donors exhibited high spiritual well-being alongside elevated anxiety and moderate psychological resilience. Spiritual well-being was statistically associated with psychological resilience but not with anxiety. These findings suggest that spiritual well-being may support adaptive psychological functioning without necessarily reducing situational anxiety in this high- risk medical context.