Evaluation of an education intervention to increase the pursuit of living kidney donation: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT: Many transplant candidates have concerns about living donation.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a structured educational session increased eligible kidney transplant candidates' pursuit of living donation. DESIGN AND INTERVENTION: Eligible transplant candidates were randomized to standard of care (n = 50) or to the educational intervention (n = 50), which included both written materials and a 2-hour education session. The primary outcome was having a living donor contact the transplant program to express interest in donation for a patient, and a secondary outcome was the candidates' preference for treatment of end-stage renal disease; both outcomes were determined at 3 months after enrollment.
RESULTS: Of the 100 patients randomized, 4 in the intervention group and 2 in the standard of care group had a living donor contact the program (P = .45). Within-group changes in treatment preference from baseline were seen in the education intervention group (P = .02), but not in the standard of care group (P = .37).
CONCLUSIONS: This educational intervention did not increase the likelihood of a potential donor contacting the transplant program, compared with standard care. However, patients who received the educational intervention were more likely to change their treatment preference to living donation at study completion. Research investigating other methods of increasing living transplant rates is urgently required.