Survey Probes Barriers to Living Donor Kidney Transplantation
Twenty million American adults have some degree of chronic kidney disease. The most serious form of chronic kidney disease is end-stage renal disease, which develops when total and permanent kidney failure occurs, causing the body to retain fluid and harmful waste.
For most end-stage renal disease patients, living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) is the treatment of choice. Yet, racial disparities in kidney transplantation persist. In particular, African-Americans have the lowest rate of LDKT among all racial groups even though they have three times the rate of end-stage renal disease than whites.
An article, published in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, used survey methods to probe the barriers to LDKT among African-American adults receiving hemodialysis treatment at two Philadelphia outpatient clinics. In the survey, 101 African-American patients were administered the Temple University Hospital Dialysis Patient Questionnaire co-developed by Temple University researchers and Heather Hammer, Abt SRBI Group Vice President of Health.
The article, co-authored by Hammer, finds that:
For most end-stage renal disease patients, living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) is the treatment of choice. Yet, racial disparities in kidney transplantation persist. In particular, African-Americans have the lowest rate of LDKT among all racial groups even though they have three times the rate of end-stage renal disease than whites.
An article, published in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, used survey methods to probe the barriers to LDKT among African-American adults receiving hemodialysis treatment at two Philadelphia outpatient clinics. In the survey, 101 African-American patients were administered the Temple University Hospital Dialysis Patient Questionnaire co-developed by Temple University researchers and Heather Hammer, Abt SRBI Group Vice President of Health.
The article, co-authored by Hammer, finds that:
- Most patients (72.3 percent) were interested in LDKT;
- But only 34.2 percent had asked someone for a donation; and
- About half (49.5 percent) had an unsolicited offer, regardless of whether they asked.
- Feelings of guilt (56.3 percent);
- Fear (37.2 percent);
- Concerns about the donor (33.3 percent);
- Reluctance to ask a potential donor for a kidney (28.1 percent); and
- Concerns about their own health (24.6 percent).
Focus Areas
Regions
North America