Each year, 800 people wait for an organ transplant in Sweden. The development of drugs for organ rejection has evolved over the past 60 years, which has increased the survival of patients who have undergone organ transplantation. The most common organ transplanted is the kidney, liver, lung and heart. There are more studies done on quality of life after an organ transplant, but very few studies on quality of life before organ transplantation.

The aim of the study was to describe the experiences of quality of life among patients waiting for an organ transplant.

A literature overview of eight articles was analyzed in both similarities and differences. The articles were published between 2002 and 2012.

The result is presented in four themes, hope of life, living in uncertainty, the body fails and need for support. In some of the themes subthemes were found. Most themes affected quality of life in a negative way. Stress and anxiety were two factors that many patients described as a cause of low quality of life. Many patients described the waiting time as living in uncertainty. Various disease symptoms showed differently depending on the underlying disease.

Results showed that patients waiting for an organ transplant have a low quality of life but only a few studies showed that these patients, despite their disease, could feel joy.