The Long-Term Follow-up and Support for Living Organ Donors: A Center-Based Initiative Founded on Developing a Community of Living Donors

Abstract

Transplant professionals recognize that the long-term follow-up of living organ donors is a priority, yet there has been no implemented solution to this problem. This critical gap is essential, because the transplant field is now emphasizing living donation as a means to address the organ shortage. We detail our living donor initiative, which sets several priorities we recognize as fundamental to persons who have donated organs at our transplant center. This intervention attempts to mitigate the donor and center factors that are known to contribute to the lack of long-term follow-up. Beyond that, our goals are aimed at providing ongoing engagement, wellness, clinical data accrual, laboratory follow-up, and social support for our living donors, in continuity. Our ultimate goal is to nurture the development of local living donor community networks by providing social engagement for current and past donors, which also serves as a platform for greater population education on the societal importance of living donation. This initiative is based on joint recognition by our transplant team and our hospital leadership that supporting the long-term welfare of living donors is essential to accomplishing the goal of expanding living donor transplantation. The transplant team and hospital missions are aligned, and both contribute resources to the initiative.

Keywords: clinical research/practice; donors and donation: donor follow-up; donors and donation: living; editorial/personal viewpoint; kidney transplantation/nephrology; liver transplantation/hepatology; preventive healthcare.