A Smartphone App for Increasing Live Organ Donation.

Area of Science:

• Transplantation Medicine
• Digital Health

Background:

• Live donor transplantation rates have declined.
• Waitlisted candidates face significant barriers in finding live donors.
• Directly asking for organ donation can be uncomfortable for candidates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a novel mobile application designed to facilitate live donor identification.
• To assess the usability and effectiveness of a Facebook app for organ transplant candidates.

Main Methods:

• A single-center prospective cohort study involving 54 adult kidney and liver transplant candidates.
• Utilized a Facebook application for candidates to share their need for a live donor.
• Compared donor referral rates of app users against matched controls using Cox proportional hazards models.

Main Results:

• The majority of users found the app easy to install, read, and use, with high satisfaction ratings for clarity and information provided.
• Candidates using the Facebook app were 6.61 times more likely to have a live donor come forward compared to controls (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• The developed Facebook application is an effective and user-friendly tool for organ transplant candidates.
• This app enables passive communication within social networks, potentially increasing live donor referrals and overcoming asking barriers.