Association of Age and Gender With Concerns About Live Donor Kidney Transplantation Among Black Individuals

Abstract

Black individuals are less likely to receive live donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) compared to others. This may be partly related to their concerns about LDKT, which can vary based on age and gender. We conducted a cross-sectional, secondary analysis of the baseline enrollment data from the Talking about Living Kidney Donation Support trial, which studied the effectiveness of social workers and financial interventions on activation towards LDKT among 300 Black individuals from a deceased donor waiting list. We assessed concerns regarding the LDKT process, including their potential need for postoperative social support, future reproductive potential, recipient and donor money matters, recipient and donor safety, and interpersonal concerns. Answers ranged from 0 ("not at all concerned") to 10 ("extremely concerned"). We described and compared participants' concerns both overall and stratified by age (≥45 years old vs <45 years old) and self-reported gender ("male" versus "female"). The participants' top concerns were donor safety (median [IQR] score 10 [5-10]), recipient safety (5 [0-10]), money matters (5 [0-9]), and guilt/indebtedness (5 [0-9]). Younger females had statistically significantly higher odds of being concerned about future reproductive potential (odds ratio [OR] 3.77, 95% CI 2.77, 4.77), and older males had statistically higher mean concern about postoperative social support (OR 1.79, 95% CI 0.19, 3.38). Interventions to improve rates of LDKT among Black individuals should include education and counseling about the safety of LDKT for both recipients and donors, reproductive counseling for female LDKT candidates of childbearing age, and addressing older males' needs for increased social support.