Shared Decision-Making in Kidney Patients: Involvement in Decisions Regarding the Quality of Deceased Donor Kidneys.

OBJECTIVES

This study examined whether kidney patients want to participate in decisions regarding the minimal acceptable quality of deceased donor kidneys. We also explored patients' opinions about the trade-off between a higher-quality organ with a longer waiting time vs a lower-quality organ with a shorter waiting time.

METHODS

A questionnaire was distributed among kidney patients. Additionally, a sub-sample of these patients participated in in-depth interviews, which were analyzed using the grounded theory approach.

RESULTS

Sixty-three percent of the patients wished to participate in decisions concerning the quality of a deceased donor kidney. The majority of the respondents indicated that they prefer a kidney of good quality and would therefore accept a longer waiting time. Responses to the qualitative interviews illustrated a more balanced choice regarding this trade-off.

CONCLUSIONS

Many patients wish to be involved in deciding on the quality of the kidney, but it may evoke the experience of decisional conflicts when they have to make rational trade-offs between the desire for the best kidney at the expense of a longer waiting time.