The Experiences of Living Donors in Kidney Transplantation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Experiences of Living Donors in Kidney Transplantation
IRAS ID
169696
Contact name
Lucie Rutter
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bangor University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 31 days
Research summary
Transplants are the preferred treatment for patients with end stage renal disease as they offer a better life expectancy and quality of life than dialysis (Landreneau, Lee & Landreneau, 2010). The success rate for kidney transplants is better from living donors compared to deceased donors with improved patient graft and survival rates (Johnson, Bradbury, Martin & Neuberger, 2014). Through the strategic plan of NSHBT, the Department of Health (DoH) has requested that the living donor programme in the UK to be increased by 20% by 2017 (NHSBT, 2012).
Although kidney transplants have been found to improve physical functioning and overall quality of life in recipients (Burra & De Bona, 2007; Liem, Bosch, Arends, Heijenbrok-Kal & Hunink, 2007), improvement on psychological quality of life have been found to be minimal or reduced in comparison ((Landreneau, Lee & Landreneau, 2010; Overbeck et al, 2005).
Research into donors appears to have produced more straight forward results. Most of the recent research, mainly outside of the UK, report the benefits of donating a kidney (e.g. Clemens et al, 2011), however much of this research has been quantitative. One qualitative study which took place in the UK consisted mainly of husband and wife couples (Gill & Lowes, 2008). This study also reported positive experiences from donors.
The rationale for the current study is that there are rising numbers of live transplants taking place in the UK and little is known about how non-couple living donors experience transplantation. A focus on donors’ experiences of the transplant process has not been researched in North Wales despite there being 3 renal services covering large geographical area. It is important to become aware of the experiences of donors in order to inform provision of care, information, advice and support for donors.REC name
Wales REC 5
REC reference
15/WA/0059
Date of REC Opinion
20 Feb 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion