ABSTRACT: LIVING KIDNEY ORGAN DONATION
DECISION MAKING AND OUTCOMES STUDY

With more than 52,000 patients currently on the waiting list for kidney transplantation, a number growing by 20% per year (Chkhotua et al., 2003), an increasing number of individuals are faced with the decision of whether to be a living donor.

Yet, studies of living donor decision making have been limited in scope, with small sample sizes, and inconsistent reports of racial and ethnic characteristics of the sample. Also, further study of pre and post donation functional status is needed to more accurately describe the donor recovery process.

This study will survey 189 living kidney donor candidates. Those who do not go on to donate will be surveyed three months after the evaluation regarding their experiences with the donor evaluation process. Those who go on to donate will be surveyed three, six, and 12 months after surgery regarding their experiences with the donor evaluation, donation, and recovery process. A small sub-sample of donor candidates will be interviewed qualitatively to provide context for the quantitative study findings.

This study will provide information that can be used to guide living donor education and informed consent. Findings on donor and family outcomes can be used to develop post-donation counseling protocols in particular, when the recipient outcome is not good or when donors report stressful responses.