Public preferences for donor kidney allocation: a study in Iran

Fair allocation of donor organs is essential to maintain public trust in a public healthcare system. A study of the public's views and opinions of this could clarify non-medical prioritization criteria. We report our survey of public opinion of criteria for donor kidney allocation.

This was a cross-sectional study using random digit dialing to phone interview 706 Tehran residents. Patient scenarios were presented to determine interviewee opinions on nine recipient criteria: probability for survival, previous transplant history, time on the waiting list, age, an individual's role in developing their kidney failure, gender, marital status, social status, and financial situation. Each scenario introduced two patients and interviewees then chose the better candidate for transplantation.

More than 50% of the participants chose length of waiting time, a patient's role in causing their disease, age, and survival time after transplantation as important allograft allocation criteria.

This study disclosed other criteria in addition to the likelihood for successful transplantation-the patient's role in the development of their disease and patient age-which should be prioritization considerations.