Survey: Most adults would consider living kidney donation if certain factors were met
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Key takeaways:
- Barriers to living donation included concerns about paying for medical expenses and potential health impacts.
- Facilitators to donation included being well-informed about the safety of the surgery.
Results from a recently published U.S. survey show that most adults would consider becoming a living kidney donor, and donation rates could increase with culturally competent education.
“Living kidney donation is promoted as the best treatment option available for people living with kidney failure. Public attitudes ... can be impacted by legislation, scientific innovation, media campaigns and individual experiences,” Katya Kaplow, MPH, of the department of surgery at New York University Langone, wrote with colleagues. “Understanding national trends ... will enable us to identify and address existing disincentives.”
Researchers surveyed a cohort of 802 U.S. adults (aged 25 to 65 years) in June 2021. Investigators developed summed, scaled indices to assess potential links between living kidney donation awareness (nine survey items) and inclination to donate (eight survey items), as well as self-reported demographic characteristics and other variables of interest. The survey captured various aspects related to living kidney donation, including knowledge about the process, as well as barriers and facilitators to donation.
According to the findings, most(86.6%) respondents said they "might" or "would definitely consider" donating a kidney while still living.
While many showed willingness, respondents identified several barriers affecting their decision to become living kidney donors, including concerns about the risk of the operation, the cost of medical expenses and potential health impacts.
Facilitators to living kidney donation included being well-informed about the safety of the donation operation, feeling assured that donors would not bear medical expenses and being familiar with success stories of living kidney donation. Awareness regarding participation in kidney paired donation was a significant factor that positively correlated with higher willingness to donate, according to the researchers.
The findings suggest “there are potential living kidney donors who have not yet presented to transplant centers and that further growth of living kidney donation is possible,” the authors wrote. “Culturally competent educational campaigns, outreach initiatives around the opportunity for kidney paired donation and national-level policies that reduce financial disincentives to living kidney donation are important next steps.”
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