Expanding Live Donor Kidney Transplantation Through Advocacy Training and Social Media

Expanding Live Donor Kidney Transplantation Through Advocacy Training and Social Media

This pilot study will be a clinical trial to test the feasibility and effectiveness of an educational intervention and a mobile health intervention in adults with end stage renal disease (ESRD) who have not yet identified a potential live donor.

Transplant candidates are hesitant to discuss their illness and the difficulties associated with dialysis, and are therefore reluctant to pursue live donor kidney transplant (LDKT). The investigators will conduct a prospective 3-arm randomized controlled trial with two novel interventions to increase live donation. Arm 1 includes LDC program and the Facebook app, Arm 2 includes just the Facebook app, and Arm 3 includes standard of care. The investigators primary objective is to demonstrate the the effectiveness of these interventions in increasing live donor transplantation rates for candidates with no prior potential live donor.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Kidney transplant candidates aged≥18 added to the waitlist in the last year with no potential live donors are eligible.
• If there is an individual willing to donate, but the candidate is unwilling to consider this option or this particular individual, the candidate is eligible for the trial and may still benefit from identification of new donors or increased comfort accepting donation from others.
• Participants at Johns Hopkins University or University of Alabama must speak English. Participants at Northwestern University must speak English or Spanish.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Candidates with live donors currently under evaluation for donation will be excluded.
• Those with a previous kidney transplant will be excluded