Assessing Living Donor Priorities Through Nominal Group Technique

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Transplant Surgery
• Public Health

Background:

• The demand for kidneys for transplantation significantly exceeds donor availability.
• While public support for living donation is high, specific motivators and deterrents remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and rank factors influencing the decision to become a living kidney donor.
• To understand informational gaps and barriers for potential living donors.

Main Methods:

• Nominal group technique was employed with 30 participants in 4 groups.
• Participants brainstormed and voted on factors impacting living donor willingness.
• Responses were analyzed and categorized into themes.

Main Results:

• Key influencing factors, ranked by importance, included altruism, relationship to recipient, knowledge, personal risk, convenience, cost, support, personal benefit, and religion.
• A significant lack of information regarding donation processes and outcomes was reported.

Conclusions:

• Public campaigns should emphasize altruism and address knowledge gaps concerning donation's impact on lifestyle and health.
• Transplant programs need to enhance convenience and minimize donor burden to increase living kidney donation rates.