Challenges to National Kidney Paired Donation Education and Opportunities for Improvement

A. Waterman¹, E. H. Wood¹, O. N. Ranasinghe¹, J. L. Beaumont², S. McGuire³, K. Miller⁴, V. Chipman⁵, J. Sinacore⁶, M. Cooper⁷

¹Division of Nephrology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, ²Terasaki Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA, ³UCLA Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Programs, Los Angeles, CA, ⁴UW Health, Madison, WI, ⁵UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, ⁶National Kidney Registry, Babylon, NY, ⁷Medstar Georgetown Transplant Institute, Washington, DC

Meeting: 2020 American Transplant Congress

Abstract number: A-027

Keywords: Kidney transplantation, Patient education, Psychosocial, Public policy

Session Information

Session Name: Poster Session A: Kidney Paired Exchange

Session Type: Poster Session

Date: Saturday, May 30, 2020

Session Time: 3:15pm-4:00pm

Presentation Time: 3:30pm-4:00pm

Location: Virtual

*Purpose: To increase kidney paired donation (KPD) rates nationally, we need to overcome systematic barriers to educating potential donors and recipients consistently about the option of KPD.

*Methods: We surveyed 90 transplant coordinators from 68 transplant centers affiliated with the NKR (80% response rate) about the presence of 25 potential KPD barriers, their satisfaction with their ability to educate about KPD, and additional resources needed when educating about KPD and the NKR process, programs, and protections.

*Results: Barriers related to donor/recipient decision-making, family resistance to KPD, challenges within the transplant center to educating about KPD, and financial costs associated with KPD were present (Table). While, overall, providers were satisfied with their own knowledge of KPD (88%), individuals who were not designated NKR coordinators were less satisfied with their knowledge about KPD (76% vs. 93%). A minority were dissatisfied with the amount of time they had available to educate about KPD (28%), and the quality of English (29%) and non-English (80%) KPD resources available.

*Conclusions: Providers expressed a need for a standardized set of educational materials, including video, web, and print materials, in multiple languages. They also requested information on special programs and living donor protections offered by the NKR. Lower volume KPD centers reported that mentoring from experienced providers at higher volume centers would help improve their ability to educate and engage. Improved educational delivery, training, and multilingual resources may increase KPD rates.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Waterman A, Wood EH, Ranasinghe ON, Beaumont JL, McGuire S, Miller K, Chipman V, Sinacore J, Cooper M. Challenges to National Kidney Paired Donation Education and Opportunities for Improvement [abstract]. Am J Transplant. 2020; 20 (suppl 3). https://atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/challenges-to-national-kidney-paired-donation-education-and-opportunities-for-improvement/. Accessed May 11, 2025.

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