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Review
. 2020 Mar;34(3):e13792.
doi: 10.1111/ctr.13792. Epub 2020 Feb 29.

Evaluation and care of international living kidney donor candidates: Strategies for addressing common considerations and challenges

Ellen Shukhman  1 , Julia Hunt  2 , Dianne LaPointe-Rudow  2 , Didier Mandelbrot  3 , Rebecca E Hays  3 , Vineeta Kumar  4 , Heidi Schaefer  5 , Fawaz Al Ammary  6 , Macey L Henderson  6 , Angie Nishio-Lucar  7 , Matthew Cooper  8 , Krista L Lentine  9
Affiliations
Review

Evaluation and care of international living kidney donor candidates: Strategies for addressing common considerations and challenges

Ellen Shukhman et al. Clin Transplant. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

End-stage kidney disease patients in the United States may have family members or friends who are not US citizens or residents but are willing to serve as their living kidney donor in the United States ("international donors"). In July 2017, the American Society for Transplantation (AST) Live Donor Community of Practice (LDCOP) convened a multidisciplinary workgroup of experts in living donation care, including coordinators, social workers, donor advocates, administrators, and physicians, to evaluate educational gaps related to the evaluation and care of international donors. The evaluation of international living donor candidates is a resource-intensive process that raises key considerations for assessing risk of exploitation/inducement and addressing communication barriers, logistics barriers, and access to care in their home country. Through consensus-building discussions, we developed recommendations related to: (a) establishing program guidelines for international donor candidate evaluation and selection; (b) initial screening; (c) logistics planning; (d) comprehensive evaluation; and (e) postdonation care and follow-up. These recommendations are not intended to direct formal policy, but rather as guidance to help programs more efficiently and effectively structure and execute evaluations and care coordination. We also offer recommendations for research and advocacy to optimize the care of this unique group of living donors.

Keywords: international donor; living donor kidney transplantation; living kidney donation; logistics; medical evaluation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures/Conflicts of Interest: The authors are volunteer members of the American Society of Transplantation (AST) Living Donor Community of Practice (LDCOP).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Programmatic considerations for the care of international living donors and donor candidates.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Research and advocacy recommendations to advance the care of international living donors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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