Considerations on the Factors Influencing Living Kidney Donors' Autonomous Decision-Making: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

As outcomes of organ transplantation have improved with advances in medicine, managing medical ethics issues has become increasingly more important. Although a basic consensus has been formed on the respect of autonomy in decision-making by prospective donors regarding living kidney transplantation, concrete and practical measures at the clinical site are required to ensure donor autonomy.The aim of the study was to identify elements related to autonomy in the kidney donor decision-making process. MethodsWe systematically collected relevant studies from multiple databases in and out of Japan and conducted qualitative and inductive analyses. ResultsThe identified elements were categorized into 12 subcategories and then regrouped into the following 4 categories based on the similarity of the contents: donor personality and values, inability to fully understand the implications of donation, possibility of direct pressure on donor's decision-making process, and donor's environment and situation. DiscussionThe autonomy-related elements were highly diverse, including obvious pressure upon the donor and their values as well as influences from health care professionals. Some elements had room for change, such as the informed consent procedure, while some elements were unchangeable. Other elements were changeable by intervention, but discussion is required about the appropriateness of the intervention itself. Further, a classification of clinical approach was suggested by the development of an analytical framework using 2 axes of “site where the element arises” and “room for change” based on the practical viewpoint of clinical circumstances.