June 25, 2025

Assessment of living donation program hints at ways to improve the process for donors

An assessment of a living kidney donation program in Ontario highlights key barriers people face when trying to donate a kidney. Common causes of delay included waiting for the donor's intended recipient to be referred for transplant evaluation (11% of cases) and the need for donor candidates to lose weight (8%). 

Living kidney donation is one of the best treatment options for people with kidney failure, but the donor evaluation process can involve many challenges. To better understand these, researcher Steven Habbous and colleagues reviewed medical records for all donor candidates actively undergoing evaluation between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2016, at the London Health Sciences Centre in Ontario. 

The results show that, during this period, the number of people coming forward as donor candidates more than doubled. At the same time, the time from first contact to donation decreased, and the number of successful living donor transplants increased. 

The most common reason candidates did not complete the process was donor attrition—meaning they initially contacted the donation program but did not continue with further appointments. While this may be outside the living donation program’s control, the study identified several factors within the program’s control that could be addressed. This includes delays related to the referral of the donor’s intended recipient for transplant evaluation, which occurred in 11 per cent of cases.  

The authors suggest that findings from this study could help improve the efficiency of living donor programs, leading to better outcomes and experiences for both donors and recipients.