• James R Rodrigue, Danielle L Cornell, Bruce Kaplan, and Richard J Howard.
• The Transplant Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USA. jrrodrig@bidmc.harvard.edu
• Am. J. Kidney Dis. 2008 Apr 1; 51 (4): 663-70.

BackgroundBlacks are disproportionately affected by chronic kidney disease, but are far less likely to undergo live donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) than whites. We assessed the differential effectiveness in blacks and whites of a home-based (HB) LDKT educational approach.Study DesignA planned secondary analysis of a previously published randomized trial.Setting & Participants132 patients (60 black, 72 white) approved for kidney transplantation at 1 kidney transplant center in the southeastern United States.InterventionAssignment to receive either standard clinic-based (CB) transplant education (n = 69) or CB plus an HB (CB + HB) LDKT education program (n = 63). The HB education program was culturally sensitive for blacks, including using a minority health educator, brochures that highlight minority transplant recipients and donors, and discussion of race-specific outcome data.OutcomesPrimary outcomes were proportions of patients with live donor inquiries, evaluations, and transplants 1 year after study participation.MeasurementsMedical record and questionnaire data.Results69 patients were assigned to the CB group, and 63 to the CB + HB group. After 1 year, there were 96 living donor inquiries (72.7%), 62 living donor evaluations (47.0%), and 54 LDKTs (40.9%). Patients assigned to the CB + HB group were more likely to have had living donor inquiries (odds ratio [OR], 1.7; confidence interval [CI], 1.2 to 3.0), a living donor evaluated (OR, 2.7; CI, 1.4 to 5.4), and LDKT (OR, 3.0; CI, 1.5 to 5.9). The effect was greater in blacks than whites for living donor evaluations and LDKT, but not for living donor inquiries (treatment-by-race interaction, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, and P = 0.8, respectively). Blacks in the CB + HB group were more likely to have had at least 1 living donor inquiry (51.7% versus 77.4%), at least 1 living donor evaluated (17.2% versus 48.4%), and LDKT (13.8% versus 45.2%) than those in the CB group. By comparison, whites in the CB + HB group were more likely to have had at least 1 living donor inquiry (72.5% versus 87.5%), at least 1 living donor evaluated (47.5% versus 71.9%), and LDKT (42.5% versus 59.4%) than those in the CB group.LimitationsSingle-center study with greater dropout rate in the CB + HB group.ConclusionsThese results suggest that a culturally sensitive LDKT education program that reaches out to blacks and their social support network can overcome some barriers to LDKT in this population.

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