Twenty Years of Unspecified Kidney Donation: Unspecified Donors Looking Back on Their Donation Experiences

Mathilde C. Pronk, Willij C. Zuidema, Willem Weimar, Jacqueline Van De Wetering, Sohal Y. Ismail, Emma K. Massey*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
32 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The Netherlands was the first European country to implement unspecified kidney donation in 2000. This qualitative study aimed to evaluate the experiences of unspecified kidney donors (UKDs) in our transplant institute to improve the care for this valuable group of donors. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 106 UKDs who donated between 2000–2016 (response rate 84%). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and independently coded by 2 researchers in NVivo using thematic analysis. The following 14 themes reflecting donor experiences were found: Satisfaction with donation; Support from social network; Interpersonal stress; Complaints about hospital care; Uncertainty about donor approval; Life on hold between approval and actual donation; Donation requires perseverance and commitment; Recovery took longer than expected; Normalization of the donation; Becoming an advocate for living kidney donation; Satisfaction with anonymity; Ongoing curiosity about outcome or recipient; Importance of anonymous communication; Anonymity is not watertight. The data reinforced that unspecified kidney donation is a positive experience for donors and that they were generally satisfied with the procedures. Most important complaints about the procedure concerned the length of the assessment procedure and the lack of acknowledgment for UKDs from both their recipients and health professionals. Suggestions are made to address the needs of UKDs.

Original languageEnglish
Article number10959
JournalTransplant International
Volume36
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Feb 2023

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgments:
The authors acknowledge Louiza van Raalten for help with conducting interviews.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 Pronk, Zuidema, Weimar, Van De Wetering, Ismail and Massey.

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