To investigate the psychological states, including depression, anxiety, loneliness, and post-traumatic stress symptoms, and the current situation of social support among parents who have lost their only child after organ donation in Zhejiang Province, and to analyze the influencing factors.

The questionnaire consisted of a general information questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7(GAD-7), the 6-items University of California Los Angeles loneliness scale (ULS-6), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). The t-test and Fisher′s exact test were applied to analyze the effects of various factors on mental status for normally distributed measurement data and count data, respectively. A value of P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

A total of 90 questionnaires were distributed, and 36 valid questionnaires were retrieved, with an effective recovery rate of 40%. Among the 36 respondents, 21 individuals (58.3%) exhibited varying degrees of depressive symptoms, with a mean PHQ-9 score of 13.6±7.3. In terms of anxiety, 11 participants (30.6%) showed moderate to severe symptoms, with a mean GAD-7 score of 15.3±4.0. 21 respondents(58.3%) reported moderate to severe loneliness, with a mean ULS-6 score of 17.5±3.8. 27 individuals (75.0%) exhibited symptoms of post-traumatic stress, with a mean IES-R score of 47.9±27.5. Only 11.1% of the respondents received a high level of social support.

Parents who have lost their only child after organ donation in Zhejiang Province have high levels of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and post-traumatic stress. The occurrence of these mental issues is associated with economic burden, life difficulties, age, and the presence of chronic diseases.