A note on a discussion group study of public preferences regarding priorities in the allocation of donor kidneys

To explore whether and how people wish to give differential priority based on certain characteristics of the potential recipient of a donor kidney.

A random sample of people resident in York was invited to attend two focus group meetings each, a fortnight apart.

The City of York.

Twenty-three randomly chosen people meeting in four groups of five or six.

Those factors that people think should be taken into account when allocating donor kidneys, in addition to the expected benefits from transplantation.

People are willing and able to distinguish between potential recipients of a kidney transplantation according to a range of characteristics beyond the expected benefits from treatment. There is a clear consensus across the four groups that one of the most important considerations is what will happen to the patient without treatment, and so priority is given to those with a poor prognosis. There is also a strong view that priority should be given to younger patients and to those with dependants. The time spent waiting for a transplant is also important, but less so.

A sample of the general public, after discussion and debate, wish to take account of a number of patient characteristics when allocating donor kidneys. There is some degree of consensus about what these factors should be and this suggests that it might be possible to develop a set of guidelines for the allocation of donor kidneys.