Skip to main content Skip to main navigation

Publication

Decisional preferences and distress among kidney transplant recipients with impaired graft function

Bilgin Osmanodja; Jakob Joachim Spencker; Ömer Ege Ömerouglu; Zeineb Sassi; Sascha Eickmann; Roland Roller; Aljoscha Burchardt; Michael Hahn; Tabea Otten; Peter Dabrock; others
In: Transplant International, Vol. 39, Pages 1-4, Frontiers Media SA, 2026.

Abstract

After transplantation, 57% of kidney transplant recipients (KTR) experience graft loss, while 43% die with a functioning graft [1], Supplementary References S1, S2. When graft loss occurs, KTR face preference-sensitive decisions similar to those in advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and kidney failure (KF) [2], Supplementary Reference S3. In CKD and KF, implementing shared decision-making (SDM) improves satisfaction with the selected kidney replacement therapy [3], Supplementary References S4, S6. For KTR approaching graft loss, however, evidence-based SDM interventions are lacking. In conventional physician-centered care, reported rates of conversations about treatment options after graft loss are as low as 13%, and the associated SDM process has not been studied [4]. The KDIGO (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes) guideline “Challenges in the management of the kidney allograft: from decline to failure” underscores the importance of SDM and advance care planning in this phase while also highlighting the limited evidence base [2].

Projects

More links