LIVING KIDNEY DONATION - A SURVEY OF PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES

Living donation is an option for meeting the needs of patients with en d-stage renal disease. We surveyed kidney transplant professionals to understand their attitudes, opinions, and practices regarding living d onation and to generate a rough estimate of the national potential for living related kidney donation, Although this sample of health practi tioners expressed strong support for living donation, their actual pro fessional practice does not necessarily reflect such support. Given th e disparity between support and practice, we recommend that leaders in the kidney transplant community focus on several concrete objectives to optimize living donation: estimate the underlying potential for liv ing donation; identify and implement best demonstrated practices for m aking the living donation request; explore and respond to the ethical issues that surround living donation; and address the needs of both do nors and recipients. (C) 1997 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc.