The ASK study: improving AccesS to Kidney transplantation

Primary study: A living-donor kidney transplant (LDKT) is one of the best treatments for kidney failure. The UK's LDKT activity falls behind that of many other countries, and there is evidence of socioeconomic inequity in access. We aimed to develop a UK-specific multicomponent intervention to support eligible individuals to access a LDKT. The intervention was designed to support those who are socioeconomically-deprived and currently disadvantaged, by targeting mediators of inequity identified in earlier work. We identified three existing interventions in the literature which target these mediators: a) the Norway model (healthcare practitioners contact patients' family with information about kidney donation), b) a home education model, and c) a Transplant candidate advocate model. We undertook intervention development using the Person-Based Approach (PBA). We performed in-depth qualitative interviews with people with advanced kidney disease (n=13), their family members (n=4), and renal and transplant healthcare practitioners (n=15). We investigated participant views on each proposed intervention component. Secondary study: In 2020 England moved to an opt-out deceased donation law. We aimed to investigate the views of relevant stakeholders towards the change in legislation. We investigated the expected impacts of the new legislation on deceased-donor and living-donor transplantation, and participant views on the focus of media campaigns regarding the law change. Available data: 29 of 32 individuals provided consent to data sharing. 29 in-depth qualitative interview transcripts are available. Interviews ranged from 13-74 minutes, with a mean duration of 42 minutes.