Scoping review for strategies to increase living kidney donation

Abstract

Background and objectives The literature on strategies to increase the number of potential living kidney donors is extensive and has yet to be characterized. Scoping reviews are a novelmethodology for systematically assessing a wide breadth of a given body of literature and may be done before conducting amore targeted systematic review. Design, setting, participants, &measurements We performed a scoping review and summarized the evidence for existing strategies to increase living kidney donation. Results Our review identified seven studies that tested interventions using rigorous methods (i.e., randomized, controlledtrials) andoutcomemeasures, all ofwhich focused on using education targetedat potential recipients to increase living donation.Of these, two studies that targeted the potential recipients’ close social network reported statistically significant results. Other interventions were identified, but their effect was assessed through quasiexperimental or observational study designs. Conclusions We identified an important gap in the literature for evidence-based strategies to increase living kidney donation. From the limited data available, strategies directed at potential recipients and their social networks are themost promising. These results can informtransplant programs that are considering strategies to increase living kidney donation and highlight the need for conduct of high-quality study to increase living donation.