Improving living renal transplant: lessons from a multi-ethnic transplant program

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Transplantation Surgery
• Public Health

Background:

• Living-renal transplantation (LRT) is the preferred treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
• Increasing the availability of living donors is crucial for expanding LRT programs.
• Understanding donor motivations and demographics is essential for program development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors influencing donor participation in a diverse living-renal transplant program.
• To analyze demographic and motivational characteristics of living donors.
• To inform strategies for increasing donor recruitment.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 110 living-renal transplant cases and their donors from 1999-2005.
• Analysis of donor demographics (age, sex, ethnicity), socioeconomic factors (education, employment, language, religion), and motivation.
• Evaluation of graft survival rates.

Main Results:

• Graft survival rates were high: 98.2% at 1 year and 92% at 5 years.
• Donors were typically middle-aged (mean 41.1 yrs), employed, educated, religious, and English-speaking.
• Significant donor motivation was observed, with 54% traveling from off-island and 10.9% having prior altruistic acts.

Conclusions:

• Effective donor referral, identification, and education are critical for successful LRT.
• Addressing educational, language, and cultural barriers is necessary to maximize donor potential.
• Individual donor motivation plays a significant role in the success of living-renal transplant programs.