BACKGROUND: An increasing number of patients and families are utilizing online crowdfunding to support their medical expenses related to organ transplantation. The factors that influence the success of medical crowdfunding campaigns are poorly understood. We analyzed campaign variables to identify those that correlate with fundraising success.

METHODS: Medical crowdfunding campaigns were abstracted from a popular crowdfunding website. Campaigns were included if they were actively accepting donations to fund medical expenses related to transplant surgeries of interest (kidney, lung, liver, heart). The primary outcome measures were receipt of any donation and total amount raised among campaigns receiving at least one donation. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed on various campaign characteristics. Text analysis of campaign descriptions for emotional content was also performed.

RESULTS: In total, 850 campaigns were analyzed. Kidney transplant campaigns were the most common type (40.5%), followed by liver (33.3%), lung (12.2%), heart (11.3%), and multi-organ transplants (2.7%). Longer description length (OR 1.15 per 100 characters, p<0.0001) was significantly associated with receipt of any donation. More positive overall sentiment (+2.6% greater amount raised, p=0.0002), longer description length (+2.4% per 100 characters, p=0.0006), and higher goal amount (+0.6%, p=0.0038) were associated with greater amount raised. Campaigns written in first-person perspective (-56.8% lower amount raised vs. third-person, p<0.0001) were associated with lower amount raised. The words “family,” “life,” and “time” were among the most common across all campaign narratives. The most commonly used emotive words included “support,” “care,” “failure,” and “love.”

CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest quantitative analysis of medical crowdfunding campaigns to date. Campaign success was significantly associated with longer description length, higher goal amount, more positive overall sentiment, and third-person writing perspective. These findings will inform patient and provider discussions around the growing practice of medical crowdfunding.

CITATION INFORMATION: Durand W., Peters J., Eltorai A., Kalagara S., Osband A., Daniels A. Medical Crowdfunding for Organ Transplant Patients Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).

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