ABSTRACT
To evaluate the quality of life [QOL] in patients who had undergone kidney transplantation in Bahrain. Forty two subjects living in Bahrain who had received primary kidney transplant for end stage renal disease and 40 healthy controls were studied. Data was collected by personal interview and from medical records using a questionnaire. The questionnaire included sociodemographic data and psychometry implementing the General Health Questionnaire and the Psychological General Wellbeing Schedule. Both groups were age- and gender-matched. No significant differences were detected between the groups in the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity, although the control group experienced greater morbidity than the transplant group. No significant differences were detected between the transplant and the controls in the mean scores of the General Well-being Schedule or its subscales. The QOL of the renal transplant and the matched healthy controls are almost similar. The effectiveness, acceptability and economic impact of renal transplantation should take into consideration the QOL dimensions of the kidney transplant recipients