OBJECTIVE: Kidney transplantation (KT) entails delivery of complex, well-coordinated, multidisciplinary care. Cultural and linguistic discordance among transplant providers and patients can lead to healthcare disparities. We analyzed outcomes after KT among Hmong recipients at our institution.

METHODS: From 1995-2005, 2454 recipients underwent KT at our institution; 91 identified as Hmong. Ethnicity and interpreter use was verified. Patient, graft, and rejection-free survival were analyzed.

RESULTS: Of the 91 recipients in the Hmong cohort (HC), 56 (61.5%) consistently requested interpreters. Median follow-up was 9.8 years. There were 13(14.3%) pediatric transplants in the HC and 277/2363(11.7%) in the Caucasian cohort (CC). The adult HC (N=78) had younger age at transplant (45.7 vs. 49.7 years; p=0.02) than the CC. The pediatric HC had older age (12.4 vs 8.7 years; p=0.005). The HC was more likely female (56% vs 38%; p=0.001) and had higher gravidity (5.0 vs 1.9 births; p<0.001). The HC had 14 living donors (LD), who were younger (32.8 vs 42.9 years; p=0.006) than LD in the CC. Overall patient survival for the HC was significantly higher than for the CC (log rank p<0.001; Figure 1a). Graft survival (including death) for the HC was higher than the CC (log rank p=0.043; Figure 1b). Rejection-free survival 1 and 5 years for the HC was 89.4% and 79.8%; for the CC, 86.2% and 82.1% (p=NS; Figure 1c).CONCLUSION: Despite cultural and linguistic differences between Hmong KT recipients and healthcare providers, there is no evidence of inferiority in KT outcomes compared to Caucasian recipients.

CITATION INFORMATION: Odegard M., Serrano O., Peterson K., Mongin S., Berglund D., Vock D., Chinnakotla S., Dunn T., Finger E., Kandaswamy R., Pruett T., Matas A. Delivery of Culturally-Competent Transplant Care among Hmong Kidney Transplant Recipients: Outcomes from a Single Institution Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).

« Back to 2018 American Transplant Congress