diff --git a/src/app/+item-page/simple/item-types/publication/publication.component.ts b/src/app/+item-page/simple/item-types/publication/publication.component.ts
index 3647e23367..81e2726e0c 100644
--- a/src/app/+item-page/simple/item-types/publication/publication.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/+item-page/simple/item-types/publication/publication.component.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import {
 } from '../../../../shared/items/item-type-decorator';
 import { ItemComponent } from '../shared/item.component';
 import { MetadataRepresentation } from '../../../../core/shared/metadata-representation/metadata-representation.model';
-import { filterRelationsByTypeLabel, relationsToItems } from '../shared/item-relationships-utils';
+import { getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel } from '../shared/item-relationships-utils';
 
 @rendersItemType('Publication', ItemViewMode.Full)
 @rendersItemType(DEFAULT_ITEM_TYPE, ItemViewMode.Full)
@@ -46,18 +46,15 @@ export class PublicationComponent extends ItemComponent implements OnInit {
       this.authors$ = this.buildRepresentations('Person', 'dc.contributor.author');
 
       this.projects$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isProjectOfPublication'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isProjectOfPublication')
       );
 
       this.orgUnits$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isOrgUnitOfPublication'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isOrgUnitOfPublication')
       );
 
       this.journalIssues$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isJournalIssueOfPublication'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isJournalIssueOfPublication')
       );
 
     }
diff --git a/src/app/+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils.ts b/src/app/+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils.ts
index 91f7c52bb8..65ad743245 100644
--- a/src/app/+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils.ts
+++ b/src/app/+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils.ts
@@ -2,16 +2,15 @@ import { ItemMetadataRepresentation } from '../../../../core/shared/metadata-rep
 import { MetadataRepresentation } from '../../../../core/shared/metadata-representation/metadata-representation.model';
 import { MetadatumRepresentation } from '../../../../core/shared/metadata-representation/metadatum/metadatum-representation.model';
 import { MetadataValue } from '../../../../core/shared/metadata.models';
-import { getSucceededRemoteData } from '../../../../core/shared/operators';
-import { hasValue } from '../../../../shared/empty.util';
+import { getRemoteDataPayload, getSucceededRemoteData } from '../../../../core/shared/operators';
+import { hasNoValue, hasValue } from '../../../../shared/empty.util';
 import { Observable } from 'rxjs/internal/Observable';
 import { Relationship } from '../../../../core/shared/item-relationships/relationship.model';
 import { RelationshipType } from '../../../../core/shared/item-relationships/relationship-type.model';
-import { distinctUntilChanged, flatMap, map } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { distinctUntilChanged, flatMap, map, switchMap } from 'rxjs/operators';
 import { of as observableOf, zip as observableZip, combineLatest as observableCombineLatest } from 'rxjs';
 import { ItemDataService } from '../../../../core/data/item-data.service';
 import { Item } from '../../../../core/shared/item.model';
-import { RemoteData } from '../../../../core/data/remote-data';
 
 /**
  * Operator for comparing arrays using a mapping function
@@ -43,23 +42,36 @@ export const compareArraysUsingIds = <T extends { id: string }>() =>
 /**
  * Fetch the relationships which match the type label given
  * @param {string} label      Type label
+ * @param thisId              The item's id of which the relations belong to
  * @returns {(source: Observable<[Relationship[] , RelationshipType[]]>) => Observable<Relationship[]>}
  */
-export const filterRelationsByTypeLabel = (label: string) =>
+export const filterRelationsByTypeLabel = (label: string, thisId?: string) =>
   (source: Observable<[Relationship[], RelationshipType[]]>): Observable<Relationship[]> =>
     source.pipe(
-      map(([relsCurrentPage, relTypesCurrentPage]) =>
-        relsCurrentPage.filter((rel: Relationship, idx: number) =>
-          hasValue(relTypesCurrentPage[idx]) && (relTypesCurrentPage[idx].leftLabel === label ||
-          relTypesCurrentPage[idx].rightLabel === label)
-        )
-      ),
+      switchMap(([relsCurrentPage, relTypesCurrentPage]) => {
+        const relatedItems$ = observableZip(...relsCurrentPage.map((rel: Relationship) =>
+            observableCombineLatest(
+              rel.leftItem.pipe(getSucceededRemoteData(), getRemoteDataPayload()),
+              rel.rightItem.pipe(getSucceededRemoteData(), getRemoteDataPayload()))
+          )
+        );
+        return relatedItems$.pipe(
+          map((arr) => relsCurrentPage.filter((rel: Relationship, idx: number) =>
+            hasValue(relTypesCurrentPage[idx]) && (
+              (hasNoValue(thisId) && (relTypesCurrentPage[idx].leftLabel === label ||
+                relTypesCurrentPage[idx].rightLabel === label)) ||
+              (thisId === arr[idx][0].id && relTypesCurrentPage[idx].leftLabel === label) ||
+              (thisId === arr[idx][1].id && relTypesCurrentPage[idx].rightLabel === label)
+            )
+          ))
+        );
+      }),
       distinctUntilChanged(compareArraysUsingIds())
     );
 
 /**
  * Operator for turning a list of relationships into a list of the relevant items
- * @param {string} thisId           The item's id of which the relations belong to
+ * @param {string} thisId       The item's id of which the relations belong to
  * @returns {(source: Observable<Relationship[]>) => Observable<Item[]>}
  */
 export const relationsToItems = (thisId: string) =>
@@ -79,10 +91,25 @@ export const relationsToItems = (thisId: string) =>
             } else if (rightItem.payload.id === thisId) {
               return leftItem.payload;
             }
-          })),
+          })
+          .filter((item: Item) => hasValue(item))
+      ),
       distinctUntilChanged(compareArraysUsingIds()),
     );
 
+/**
+ * Operator for turning a list of relationships and their relationship-types into a list of relevant items by relationship label
+ * @param thisId  The item's id of which the relations belong to
+ * @param label   The label of the relationship-type to filter on
+ * @param side    Filter only on one side of the relationship (for example: child-parent relationships)
+ */
+export const getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel = (thisId: string, label: string) =>
+  (source: Observable<[Relationship[], RelationshipType[]]>): Observable<Item[]> =>
+    source.pipe(
+      filterRelationsByTypeLabel(label, thisId),
+      relationsToItems(thisId)
+    );
+
 /**
  * Operator for turning a list of relationships into a list of metadatarepresentations given the original metadata
  * @param parentId    The id of the parent item
diff --git a/src/app/+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item.component.spec.ts b/src/app/+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item.component.spec.ts
index 95235c5a72..12312656f6 100644
--- a/src/app/+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item.component.spec.ts
+++ b/src/app/+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item.component.spec.ts
@@ -104,7 +104,9 @@ export function containsFieldInput(fields: DebugElement[], metadataKey: string):
 export function createRelationshipsObservable() {
   return observableOf(new RemoteData(false, false, true, null, new PaginatedList(new PageInfo(), [
     Object.assign(new Relationship(), {
-      relationshipType: observableOf(new RemoteData(false, false, true, null, new RelationshipType()))
+      relationshipType: observableOf(new RemoteData(false, false, true, null, new RelationshipType())),
+      leftItem: observableOf(new RemoteData(false, false, true, null, new Item())),
+      rightItem: observableOf(new RemoteData(false, false, true, null, new Item()))
     })
   ])));
 }
diff --git a/src/app/entity-groups/journal-entities/item-pages/journal-issue/journal-issue.component.ts b/src/app/entity-groups/journal-entities/item-pages/journal-issue/journal-issue.component.ts
index a355431100..b584fa3285 100644
--- a/src/app/entity-groups/journal-entities/item-pages/journal-issue/journal-issue.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/entity-groups/journal-entities/item-pages/journal-issue/journal-issue.component.ts
@@ -4,10 +4,7 @@ import { Item } from '../../../../core/shared/item.model';
 import { ItemViewMode, rendersItemType } from '../../../../shared/items/item-type-decorator';
 import { isNotEmpty } from '../../../../shared/empty.util';
 import { ItemComponent } from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item.component';
-import {
-  filterRelationsByTypeLabel,
-  relationsToItems
-} from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils';
+import { getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel } from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils';
 
 @rendersItemType('JournalIssue', ItemViewMode.Full)
 @Component({
@@ -34,12 +31,10 @@ export class JournalIssueComponent extends ItemComponent {
 
     if (isNotEmpty(this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$)) {
       this.volumes$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isJournalVolumeOfIssue'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isJournalVolumeOfIssue')
       );
       this.publications$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isPublicationOfJournalIssue'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isPublicationOfJournalIssue')
       );
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/app/entity-groups/journal-entities/item-pages/journal-volume/journal-volume.component.ts b/src/app/entity-groups/journal-entities/item-pages/journal-volume/journal-volume.component.ts
index a851bfebbe..66df0b8104 100644
--- a/src/app/entity-groups/journal-entities/item-pages/journal-volume/journal-volume.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/entity-groups/journal-entities/item-pages/journal-volume/journal-volume.component.ts
@@ -4,10 +4,7 @@ import { Item } from '../../../../core/shared/item.model';
 import { ItemViewMode, rendersItemType } from '../../../../shared/items/item-type-decorator';
 import { isNotEmpty } from '../../../../shared/empty.util';
 import { ItemComponent } from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item.component';
-import {
-  filterRelationsByTypeLabel,
-  relationsToItems
-} from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils';
+import { getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel } from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils';
 
 @rendersItemType('JournalVolume', ItemViewMode.Full)
 @Component({
@@ -34,12 +31,10 @@ export class JournalVolumeComponent extends ItemComponent {
 
     if (isNotEmpty(this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$)) {
       this.journals$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isJournalOfVolume'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isJournalOfVolume')
       );
       this.issues$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isIssueOfJournalVolume'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isIssueOfJournalVolume')
       );
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/app/entity-groups/journal-entities/item-pages/journal/journal.component.ts b/src/app/entity-groups/journal-entities/item-pages/journal/journal.component.ts
index 99183651e1..a8f071d78a 100644
--- a/src/app/entity-groups/journal-entities/item-pages/journal/journal.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/entity-groups/journal-entities/item-pages/journal/journal.component.ts
@@ -4,10 +4,7 @@ import { Item } from '../../../../core/shared/item.model';
 import { ItemViewMode, rendersItemType } from '../../../../shared/items/item-type-decorator';
 import { isNotEmpty } from '../../../../shared/empty.util';
 import { ItemComponent } from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item.component';
-import {
-  filterRelationsByTypeLabel,
-  relationsToItems
-} from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils';
+import { getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel } from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils';
 
 @rendersItemType('Journal', ItemViewMode.Full)
 @Component({
@@ -29,8 +26,7 @@ export class JournalComponent extends ItemComponent {
 
     if (isNotEmpty(this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$)) {
       this.volumes$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isVolumeOfJournal'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isVolumeOfJournal')
       );
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/app/entity-groups/research-entities/item-pages/orgunit/orgunit.component.ts b/src/app/entity-groups/research-entities/item-pages/orgunit/orgunit.component.ts
index 7101f05d35..031ca14ebb 100644
--- a/src/app/entity-groups/research-entities/item-pages/orgunit/orgunit.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/entity-groups/research-entities/item-pages/orgunit/orgunit.component.ts
@@ -4,10 +4,7 @@ import { Item } from '../../../../core/shared/item.model';
 import { ItemViewMode, rendersItemType } from '../../../../shared/items/item-type-decorator';
 import { isNotEmpty } from '../../../../shared/empty.util';
 import { ItemComponent } from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item.component';
-import {
-  filterRelationsByTypeLabel,
-  relationsToItems
-} from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils';
+import { getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel } from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils';
 
 @rendersItemType('OrgUnit', ItemViewMode.Full)
 @Component({
@@ -39,18 +36,15 @@ export class OrgunitComponent extends ItemComponent implements OnInit {
 
     if (isNotEmpty(this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$)) {
       this.people$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isPersonOfOrgUnit'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isPersonOfOrgUnit')
       );
 
       this.projects$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isProjectOfOrgUnit'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isProjectOfOrgUnit')
       );
 
       this.publications$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isPublicationOfOrgUnit'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isPublicationOfOrgUnit')
       );
     }
   }}
diff --git a/src/app/entity-groups/research-entities/item-pages/person/person.component.ts b/src/app/entity-groups/research-entities/item-pages/person/person.component.ts
index ec91561eb9..8b36175b96 100644
--- a/src/app/entity-groups/research-entities/item-pages/person/person.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/entity-groups/research-entities/item-pages/person/person.component.ts
@@ -6,10 +6,7 @@ import { ITEM } from '../../../../shared/items/switcher/item-type-switcher.compo
 import { SearchFixedFilterService } from '../../../../+search-page/search-filters/search-filter/search-fixed-filter.service';
 import { isNotEmpty } from '../../../../shared/empty.util';
 import { ItemComponent } from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item.component';
-import {
-  filterRelationsByTypeLabel,
-  relationsToItems
-} from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils';
+import { getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel } from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils';
 
 @rendersItemType('Person', ItemViewMode.Full)
 @Component({
@@ -57,18 +54,15 @@ export class PersonComponent extends ItemComponent {
 
     if (isNotEmpty(this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$)) {
       this.publications$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isPublicationOfAuthor'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isPublicationOfAuthor')
       );
 
       this.projects$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isProjectOfPerson'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isProjectOfPerson')
       );
 
       this.orgUnits$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isOrgUnitOfPerson'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isOrgUnitOfPerson')
       );
 
       this.fixedFilterQuery = this.fixedFilterService.getQueryByRelations('isAuthorOfPublication', this.item.id);
diff --git a/src/app/entity-groups/research-entities/item-pages/project/project.component.ts b/src/app/entity-groups/research-entities/item-pages/project/project.component.ts
index 46bc7c9f88..13c2b54ba4 100644
--- a/src/app/entity-groups/research-entities/item-pages/project/project.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/entity-groups/research-entities/item-pages/project/project.component.ts
@@ -5,10 +5,7 @@ import { MetadataRepresentation } from '../../../../core/shared/metadata-represe
 import { ItemViewMode, rendersItemType } from '../../../../shared/items/item-type-decorator';
 import { isNotEmpty } from '../../../../shared/empty.util';
 import { ItemComponent } from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item.component';
-import {
-  filterRelationsByTypeLabel,
-  relationsToItems
-} from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils';
+import { getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel } from '../../../../+item-page/simple/item-types/shared/item-relationships-utils';
 
 @rendersItemType('Project', ItemViewMode.Full)
 @Component({
@@ -47,18 +44,15 @@ export class ProjectComponent extends ItemComponent implements OnInit {
       this.contributors$ = this.buildRepresentations('OrgUnit', 'project.contributor.other');
 
       this.people$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isPersonOfProject'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isPersonOfProject')
       );
 
       this.publications$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isPublicationOfProject'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isPublicationOfProject')
       );
 
       this.orgUnits$ = this.resolvedRelsAndTypes$.pipe(
-        filterRelationsByTypeLabel('isOrgUnitOfProject'),
-        relationsToItems(this.item.id)
+        getRelatedItemsByTypeLabel(this.item.id, 'isOrgUnitOfProject')
       );
     }
   }