Live kidney donation: attitudes towards donor approach, motives and factors promoting donation

There are many views regarding the initiation of the process for live donor kidney transplantation (LDKT), the motives of the donor and the appropriate ways to promote LDKT.

Health care professionals and patients were recruited in a tertiary renal and transplant centre and completed an anonymous questionnaire. They were then divided into focus groups and a structured interview was performed in order to discover the rationale behind the answers in the questionnaire.

Four hundred and sixty-four participants completed the questionnaire. There were 168 health care professionals and 296 patients. Most of the participants (26.9%) suggested that the first approach to a potential donor should be made by the potential recipient. Participants believed that the most important motives for a kidney donor are relief as a result of the recipient's improved health after the transplant (82.5%) and altruism (80.4%). About 89.2% of participants believed that proper long-term medical follow-up of the donor is the most important factor for LDKT promotion. Fifty-five participants discussed the rationale of their answers in the focus group interview.

In our study, participants preferred an initial approach of the donor by the recipient. The relief as a result of the recipient's improved health was suggested as a very strong motive for donation. Proper donor follow-up was considered to be paramount for the further development of LDKT.