A hospital-based educational approach to increase live donor kidney transplantation among blacks and hispanics

Background: Little research is available on interventions to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT). Material/Methods: Active kidney candidates and a guest at 1 center in New York were invited to attend 2 different hospital-based educational approaches including: (1) a pre-transplant support group (SG) providing nonspecific transplant education (n=34) and (2) a didactic educational class specifically aimed at LDKT education (LDE) (n=75). The LDE intervention was culturally sensitive for Hispanics, including using a Spanish-speaking minority health educator. Follow-up was 10 months. Results: The LDE group had significantly more candidates that: had a married/domestic partner (61.3% vs. 23.5%), attended with a guest (54.1% vs. 27.3%), knew their list status (active vs. inactive; (53.3% vs. 26.5%), were in a higher stage of readiness for LDKT (stage 4 or 5=33.9% vs. 13.7%), and were somewhat more likely to be Hispanic (41.3% vs. 32.3%) compared to controls. LDE resulted in somewhat more potential donors contacting our center (14.7% vs. 2.9%, p=0.0994), presenting for evaluation (6.7% vs. 0%, p=0.3220), and proceeding with donation (2.6% vs. 0%, p=1.0). The LDE live donor inquiry rate was 22.6% for Hispanics and 15.4% for blacks. Conclusions: These results suggest that a LDKT-specific education program, especially if culturally sensitive, can overcome some barriers to LDKT in minorities.