Increasing Kidney Transplant Among Blacks on the Transplant Waiting List

The best treatment for severe chronic kidney disease is usually a living donor kidney transplant (LDKT), but large racial disparities persist in receipt of LDKTs. In 2011, Blacks, who comprised 36.8% of the dialysis population, received 32.2% of deceased donor kidney transplants (DDKTs) but just 14.0% of LDKTs. Among kidney transplant candidates who are Black, their lower rate of LDKT largely stems from a lack of donor volunteers (persons interested in donating a living kidney to them). The most effective ways to motivate and help Black transplant candidates to "recruit" or identify any (or more) donor volunteers remain unclear. Several interventions appear promising and are being tested, but none has proven both practical and effective. Transplant candidates, particularly those who are Black, report that multiple barriers prevent them from receiving LDKTs. These barriers include minimal knowledge about LDKT; fears about donors' future health; guilt; medical mistrust; and discomfort about how to discuss LDKT with family and friends. Most transplant candidates have never met either a kidney donor or a recipient of a transplant or LDKT. A multi-component intervention that efficiently addresses these barriers could plausibly increase receipt of LDKT among Blacks. The main objective of this study is to test an educational and behavioral intervention that is designed to increase receipt of LDKT among transplant candidates (persons active on the DDKT waiting list) who are Black. Our overall hypothesis is that a multi-component intervention administered to Black transplant candidates will increase both readiness to pursue LDKT and actual receipt of LDKTs. To meet this objective and test our hypothesis, we propose a two-arm, parallel group randomized trial among 500 Black kidney transplant candidates. After Black transplant candidates are placed on the waiting list for a DDKT, we will randomize them to either: (1) a control group that will receive Usual Care, or (2) an Intervention group that will receive a group-based intervention as well as monthly mailings and a follow-up phone call by a transplant educator. Participants randomized to the Intervention will be asked to attend, in small groups with any family and friends, a 60-90 minute seminar that will feature brief talks regarding: ●basic facts about CKD, transplant, and the waiting list; ●the experience of receiving a LDKT transplant (by a Black LDKT recipient); ●the experience of serving as a living kidney donor (by a Black living kidney donor); and ●strategies to increase the chances of getting a transplant sooner. Our Specific Aims are as follows: Aim 1 (Primary Aim): To compare readiness to pursue LDKT and receipt of LDKT in the Intervention vs. Usual Care groups of our randomized clinical trial, during the 18 months after randomization Hypothesis: Exposure to the multi-component Intervention is associated with an increase in readiness to pursue LDKT and an increase in receipt of LDKT Aim 2: To determine the baseline social and behavioral variables that modify the effect of the Intervention upon readiness to pursue LDKT and actual receipt of LDKT Hypothesis: Greater knowledge of LDKT and greater readiness to pursue LDKT are associated with receipt of LDKT Aim 3: To determine whether changes in social and behavioral variables mediate the effects of the Intervention upon readiness to pursue LDKT and actual receipt of LDKT Hypothesis: Increases in readiness to pursue LDKT are associated with receipt of LDKT