Employing transplant recipients: a pilot study.

This pilot study aimed to give some indication of the reasons why many transplant recipients seem to have difficulty finding employment. Twenty-one transplant recipients and 17 employers completed a questionnaire covering a variety of health and employment-related topics. The transplant procedures the recipients had undergone included heart, heart/lung, heart/liver, and heart/kidney. The employers represented a selection of large and small companies drawn from the Standard Occupation Classification. The responses indicated that the employers' knowledge of transplantation varied according to size of the company, the nature of its work and which department had completed the questionnaire (occupational health or personnel). The views of recipients on employment prospects varied, with some claiming they had not attempted to find employment as they were happy with their new health and 'just enjoyed living', while others considered employment an important factor in the quality of their lives. Key indicators for future research efforts have been identified.