*Purpose: The OPTN Living Donor Committee surveyed U.S. transplant (TX) programs to assess their experiences with social media campaigns intended to identify potential living donors (PLDs) for TX candidates.

*Methods: A REDCap survey was distributed to living donor program directors, TX administrators, and quality directors in September 2019. Topics included social media education and resources; patient challenges; program concerns, challenges and best practices; and program preparedness to handle a sudden influx of PLDs from a social media campaign.

*Results: We received 174 responses, predominantly from kidney programs. 72% (N=125) of respondents indicated their program provides patient education on the use of social media to find a PLD. Of the 153 respondents who indicated their programs track referral source information, 63% (N=97) reported referrals from social network sites. Of these, 62% (N=60) reported an increase in the number of social media referrals in the past year. Just 20% of respondents (N=35) said that their program has a special protocol for PLDs referred by social media. 28% of respondents (N=49) said their program has concerns regarding patients’ social media use. Referral volume, PLD motivation, PLD viability, and privacy were the main themes identified from the qualitative responses. 65% of respondents (N=113) indicated that patients have shared challenges regarding use of social media campaigns; the most common patient challenges were limited knowledge of social media, privacy concerns, and limited access to technology. 40% (N=70) reported that their program has experienced challenges related to social media; the most common theme identified was unprepared/uneducated PLDs. Best practices developed in response to social media challenges included enhanced screening questions, enhanced education for candidates, and enhanced/early education for potential donors. 51% (N=89) said their program was mostly or very prepared to respond to a sudden influx of PLDs for a single recipient.

*Conclusions: This survey provides insight into TX programs’ experiences with patients’ social media campaigns to identify PLDs.

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