Introducción:

In living donor kidney transplantation, the personal experience of the disease situation significantly influences the emotional adaptation and coping of the individual.

Objective:

This study aims to uncover the personal significance attributed by individuals with living donor kidney transplants to their disease and its treatment and to identify any changes in this perception before and after transplantation.

Material and Method:

Qualitative phenomenological study. Seven people with kidney disease who received a preventive living donor kidney transplant participated. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and qualitative observation.

Results:

Three themes emerged from the thematic analysis of the interviews: no feeling of illness (they did not feel ill either physically or psychologically); no need for transplantation (the disease did not alter their lives, but they trusted the professionals and accepted the surgery); and transplantation to maintain the same way of life (to avoid dialysis and recover activities).

Conclusions:

The meaning of the disease and renal transplantation change according to the stage (pre- or post-transplant) in which the patient is: identification of the disease is related to the presence of symptomatology, to physical symptomatology and to routines of taking daily medication and follow-up visits; and renal transplantation, means avoiding dialysis, doing the same way of life, overcoming a challenge and recovering physical condition.