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Educating Prospective Kidney Transplant Recipients and Living Donors about Living Donation: Practical and Theoretical Recommendations for Increasing Living Donation Rates

  • Live Kidney Donation (KL Lentine, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

A promising strategy for increasing living donor kidney transplant (LDKT) rates is improving education about living donation for both prospective kidney transplant recipients and living donors to help overcome the proven knowledge, psychological, and socioeconomic barriers to LDKT. A recent Consensus Conference on Best Practices in Live Kidney Donation recommended that comprehensive LDKT education be made available to patients at all stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, in considering how to implement this recommendation across different healthcare learning environments, the current lack of available guidance regarding how to design, deliver, and measure the efficacy of LDKT education programs is notable. In the current article, we provide an overview of how one behavior change theory, the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change, can guide the delivery of LDKT education for patients at various stages of CKD and readiness for LDKT. We also discuss the importance of creating educational programs for both potential kidney transplant recipients and living donors, and identify key priorities for educational research to reduce racial disparities in LDKT and increase LDKT rates.

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Abbreviations

AST:

American Society of Transplantation

CKD:

Chronic kidney disease

ESRD:

End-stage renal disease

LDKT:

Living donor kidney transplant

OPTN:

Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network

SES:

Socioeconomic status

TALK:

Talking About Live Kidney Donation

TTM:

Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the sponsors and participants of the American Society of Transplant’s Consensus Conference on Best Practices on Live Kidney Donation who are responsible for the framework of educational recommendations considered in this paper. This research was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK088711-01A) and the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute grant (UL1TR000124).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Nephrology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, 10940 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1223, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA

    Amy D. Waterman & John D. Peipert

  2. Cancer Prevention Research Center, University of Rhode Island, 130 Flagg Rd., Kingston, RI, 02881, USA

    Mark L. Robbins

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  1. Amy D. Waterman
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Correspondence to Amy D. Waterman.

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Amy D. Waterman, Mark L. Robbins, and John D. Peipert declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Waterman, A.D., Robbins, M.L. & Peipert, J.D. Educating Prospective Kidney Transplant Recipients and Living Donors about Living Donation: Practical and Theoretical Recommendations for Increasing Living Donation Rates. Curr Transpl Rep 3, 1–9 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40472-016-0090-0

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