2. Social supportSocial support is defined as a resource from self or oth-ers which provides assistance, protection, and reciprocity. It can be measured by considering the domains of emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal support (Eggert, Herting, & Thompson, 1994; Hinson-Langford, Bowsher, Moloney, & Lillis, 1997). Social support among renal trans-plant recipients can be medical personnel as well as family members and friends (W. L. Lin et al., 2002). W. L. Lin et al. and Shah et al. (2006) found that social support was posi-tively related to QOL in renal transplant recipients, and emo-tional support was the most significant predictor of QOL. Frazier, Davis-Ali, and Dahl (1995) also found that support from a spouse was most important when renal transplant recipients experienced many stressful situations. Wubsett (1998) suggested that the medical care team can enhance social support to promote renal transplant recipients’ QOL.