Cost-benefit approach in evaluating investment into donor action: the German case

Cost-effectiveness of Interventions to Increase Utilization of Kidneys From Deceased Donors With Primary Brain Malignancy in an Australian Setting

Kidneys from potential deceased donors with brain cancer are often foregone due to concerns of cancer transmission risk to recipients. There may be uncertainty around donors' medical history and their absolute transmission risk or risk-averse decision-making among clinicians. However, brain cancer transmissions are rare, and prolonging waiting time for recipients is harmful.

Methods

We assessed the cost-effectiveness of increasing utilization of potential deceased donors with brain cancer using a Markov model simulation of 1500 patients waitlisted for a kidney transplant, based on linked transplant registry data and with a payer perspective (Australian government). We estimated costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) for three interventions: decision support for clinicians in assessing donor risk, improved cancer classification accuracy with real-time data-linkage to hospital records and cancer registries, and increased risk tolerance to allow intermediate-risk donors (up to 6.4% potential transmission risk).

Results

Compared with current practice, decision support provided 0.3% more donors with an average transmission risk of 2%. Real-time data-linkage provided 0.6% more donors (1.1% average transmission risk) and increasing risk tolerance (accepting intermediate-risk 6.4%) provided 2.1% more donors (4.9% average transmission risk). Interventions were dominant (improved QALYs and saved costs) in 78%, 80%, and 87% of simulations, respectively. The largest benefit was from increasing risk tolerance (mean +18.6 QALYs and AU$2.2 million [US$1.6 million] cost-savings).

Conclusions

Despite the additional risk of cancer transmission, accepting intermediate-risk donors with brain cancer is likely to increase the number of donor kidneys available for transplant, improve patient outcomes, and reduce overall healthcare expenditure.

Outcomes from organ donation following medical assistance in dying: A scoping review

AIM

To collate and summarize the current international literature on the transplant recipient outcomes of organs from Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) donors, as well as the actual and potential impact of organ donation following MAiD on the donation and transplantation system.

BACKGROUND

The provision of organ donation following MAiD can impact the donation and transplantation system, as well as potential recipients of organs from the MAiD donor, therefore a comprehensive understanding of the potential and actual impact of organ donation after MAiD on the donation and transplantation systems is needed.

DESIGN

Scoping review using the JBI framework.

METHODS

We searched for published (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Academic Search Complete), and unpublished literature (organ donation organization websites worldwide). Included references discussed the actual and potential impact of organ donation following MAiD on the donation and transplantation system. All references were screened, extracted and analysed by two independent reviewers.

RESULTS

We included 78 references in this review and our finding were summarized across three categories: (1) Impact in the donor pool: (2) statistics on organ donation following MAiD; and (3) potential and actual impact of MAiD on the donation and transplant system.

CONCLUSIONS

The potential impact of the MAiD donor on the transplant waiting list is relatively small as this process is still rare, however, due to the current organ shortage worldwide the contribution of this procedure should not be disregarded. Additionally, despite being limited, the existing research provided scanty evidence that organs retrieved from MAiD donors are associated with satisfactory graft function and survival rates and that outcomes from transplant recipients are comparable to those of organs from donation following brain death and may be better than those of organs from other types of donation after circulatory determined death. Still, further studies are required for comprehensive and reliable evidence.

The Magnitude of the Health and Economic Impact of Increased Organ Donation on Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease

Objectives. There are several approaches such as presumed consent and compensation for deceased donor organs that could reduce the gap between supply and demand for kidneys. Our objective is to evaluate the magnitude of the economic impact of policies to increase deceased donor organ donation in the United States. Methods. We built a Markov model and simulate an open cohort of end-stage renal disease patients awaiting kidney transplantation in the United States over 20 years. Model inputs were derived from the United States Renal Data System and published literature. We evaluate the magnitude of the health and economic impact of policies to increase deceased donor kidney donation in the United States. Results. Increasing deceased kidney donation by 5% would save $4.7 billion, and gain 30,870 quality-adjusted life years over the lifetime of an open cohort of patients on dialysis on the waitlist for kidney transplantation. With an increase in donations of 25%, the cost saved was $21 billion, and 145,136 quality-adjusted life years were gained. Policies increasing deceased kidney donation by 5% could pay donor estates $8000 or incur a onetime cost of up to $4 billion and still be cost-saving. Conclusions. Increasing deceased kidney donation could significantly impact national spending and health for end-stage renal disease patients.

Cost-effectiveness of Deceased-donor Renal Transplant Versus Dialysis to Treat End-stage Renal Disease: A Systematic Review

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Deceased-donor renal transplant (DDRT) is an expensive and potentially risky health intervention with the prospect of improved life and lower long-term costs compared with dialysis. Due to the increasing shortage of kidneys and the associated rise of transplantation costs, certain patient groups may not benefit from transplantation in a cost-effective manner compared with dialysis. The objective of this systematic review was to provide a comprehensive synthesis of evidence on the cost-effectiveness of DDRT relative to dialysis to treat adults with end-stage renal disease and patient-, donor-, and system-level factors that may modify the conclusion. A systematic search of articles was conducted on major databases including MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, EconLit, and the Health Economic Evaluations Database. Eligible articles were restricted to those published in 2001 or thereafter. Two reviewers independently assessed the suitability of studies and excluded studies that focused on recipients with age <18 years old and those of a living-donor or multiorgan transplant. We show that while DDRT is generally a cost-effective treatment relative to dialysis at conventional willingness-to-pay thresholds, a range of drivers including older patient age, comorbidity, and long wait times significantly reduce the benefit of DDRT while escalating healthcare costs. These findings suggest that the performance of DDRT on older patients with comorbidities should be carefully evaluated to avoid adverse results as evidence suggests that it is not cost-effective. Delayed transplantation may reduce the economic benefits of transplant which necessitates targeted policies that aim to shorten wait times. More recent findings have demonstrated that transplantation using high-risk donors may be a cost-effective and promising alternative to dialysis in the face of a lack of organ availability and fiscal constraints. This review highlights key concepts of health economic evaluations and the relevance of cost-effectiveness to inform care and decision-making in renal programs.

The need for kidney transplantation in low- and middle-income countries in 2012: an epidemiological perspective

Epidemiological and demographic transitions are shifting the burden of modifiable risk factors for chronic and end-stage kidney disease to low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This shifting burden of disease--combined with economic transitions and health system reforms--has led to the rapid growth of dialysis populations in LMIC including Malaysia, Tunisia, Turkey, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay. Yet, compared to 1.5 million on dialysis in LMIC, only approximately 33,000 kidney transplants were performed in 2012. Reasons include health system factors (personnel, infrastructure, system coordination, and financing) and cultural factors (public and professional attitudes and the legal environment). The size of the dialysis populations, however, is generally a poor indicator of the potential need for kidney transplantation in LMIC. Population needs for kidney transplantation should instead be assessed based on the epidemiology of the actual underlying burden of disease (both treated and untreated), and the costs and benefits of treatment as well as prevention strategies relative to existing service provision. Here, we review current data on the global burden of end-stage kidney disease and the distribution of major risk factors, and compare this to access to kidney transplantation in 2012.

Cost-effectiveness of policies aimed at increasing organ donation: the case of Chile

BACKGROUND

In this article we present an economic evaluation of policies aimed at increasing deceased organ donation in Chile, a developing country that has low donation rates; it had 5.4 donors per million people (pmp) in 2010.

METHODS

Expert opinions of leading participants in donation and transplantation were analyzed, resulting in a set of local policies aimed at increasing donation rates. Using previous results of reported cost savings of increasing kidney transplantation in Chile, we estimated the net benefits of these policies, as a function of additional donors.

RESULTS

The main problem of the Chilean system seems to be the low capability to identify potential donors and a deficit in intensive care unit (ICU) beds. Among considered policies central to increase donation are the following: increasing human and capital resources dedicated to identifying potential donors, providing ICU beds from private centers, and developing an online information system that facilitates procurement coordination and the evaluation of performance at each hospital. Our results show that there is a linear relationship between cost savings and incremental donors pmp. For example, if these policies are capable of elevating donation rates in Chile by 6 donors pmp net estimated cost savings are approximately US $1.9 million. Likewise, considering the effect on patients' quality of life, savings would amount to around $15.0 million dollars per year.

CONCLUSIONS

Our estimates suggest that these policies have a large cost-saving potential. In fact, considering implementation costs, cost reduction is positive after 4 additional donors pmp, and increasing afterward.

The cost-effectiveness of using payment to increase living donor kidneys for transplantation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

For eligible candidates, transplantation is considered the optimal treatment compared with dialysis for patients with ESRD. The growing number of patients with ESRD requires new strategies to increase the pool of potential donors.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS

Using decision analysis modeling, this study compared a strategy of paying living kidney donors to waitlisted recipients on dialysis with the current organ donation system. In the base case estimate, this study assumed that the number of donors would increase by 5% with a payment of $10,000. Quality of life estimates, resource use, and costs (2010 Canadian dollars) were based on the best available published data.

RESULTS

Compared with the current organ donation system, a strategy of increasing the number of kidneys for transplantation by 5% by paying living donors $10,000 has an incremental cost-savings of $340 and a gain of 0.11 quality-adjusted life years. Increasing the number of kidneys for transplantation by 10% and 20% would translate into incremental cost-savings of $1640 and $4030 and incremental quality-adjusted life years gain of 0.21 and 0.39, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Although the impact is uncertain, this model suggests that a strategy of paying living donors to increase the number of kidneys available for transplantation could be cost-effective, even with a transplant rate increase of only 5%. Future work needs to examine the feasibility, legal policy, ethics, and public perception of a strategy to pay living donors.

Cost-benefit estimation of cadaveric kidney transplantation: the case of a developing country

BACKGROUND

In this paper we have estimated the cost savings for the health care system and quality-of-life improvement for patients from an increased number of kidney transplants in Chile. We compared the present value of dialysis and transplantation costs and quality of life over a 20-year horizon.

METHODS

We used Markov models and introduced some degree of uncertainty in the value of some of the parameters that built the model. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we estimated the confidence intervals for our results.

RESULTS

Our estimates suggested that a kidney transplant showed an expected savings value of US$28,000 for the health care system. If the quality-of-life improvement was also considered, the expected savings rise to US$ 102,000. These results imply that increasing donation rate by 1 donor per million population would achieve an estimated cost saving of US$827,000 per year, or near US$3 million per year considering the effect on the quality of life.

CONCLUSION

These results demonstrated that kidney transplantation along with a better quality of life for patients are a cost-saving decision for developing countries.

A review of the costs and cost effectiveness of interventions in chronic kidney disease: implications for policy

Given rising healthcare costs and a growing population of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), there is an urgent need to identify health interventions that provide good value for money. For this review, the English-language literature was searched for studies of interventions in CKD reporting an original incremental cost-utility (cost per QALY) or cost-effectiveness (cost per life-year) ratio. Published cost studies that did not report cost-effectiveness or cost-utility ratios were also reviewed. League tables were then created for both cost-utility and cost-effectiveness ratios to assess interventions in patients with stage 1-4 CKD, waitlist and transplant patients and those with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In addition, the percentage of cost-saving or dominant interventions (those that save money and improve health) was compared across these three disease categories. A total of 84 studies were included, contributing 72 cost-utility ratios, 20 cost-effectiveness ratios and 42 other cost measures. Many of the interventions were dominant over the comparator, indicating better health outcomes and lower costs. For the three disease categories, the greatest number of dominant or cost-saving interventions was reported for stage 1-4 CKD patients, followed by waitlist and transplant recipients and those with ESRD (91%, 87% and 55% of studies reporting a dominant or cost-saving intervention, respectively). There is evidence of opportunities to lower costs in the treatment of patients with CKD, while either improving or maintaining the quality of care. In order to realize these cost savings, efforts will be required to promote and effectively implement changes in treatment practices.

The Cost of Kidney Transplantation in Iran

BACKGROUND

Kidney transplantation has gained widespread popularity by improving the outcome of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. However, this is a highly complicated and expensive procedure that puts much pressure on the health system in developing countries. We report the costs in Iran model of kidney transplantation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We reviewed the regulations for kidney transplantation using Dialysis and Transplant Patients Association (DATPA) information, 2005. All data regarding the cost of transplantation procedure, immunosuppression, and the money given to donors were included. The cost of transplantation procedure was categorized into personnel, drugs, paraclinics, hospital bed, and other expenses. To achieve more comprehensive results, all costs were converted into US dollars (1 USD = 9000 Rials).

RESULTS

The total cost of kidney transplantation procedure was $9224. Of this, 65.8% ($6076) was related to the immunosuppression therapy in the first year, 22.2% ($2048) to the transplantation procedure, and 12% ($1100) to organ procurement. The details of donor nephrectomy were as follows: personnel, $183; accommodations, $107; drugs, $39; paraclinics, $23; and other, $22. These values for kidney recipient were personnel, $331; drugs, $367; paraclinics, $278; accommodations, $475; and other, $222.

CONCLUSION

Compared with other countries, the kidney transplantation cost is low in Iran. The health system also pays for all the expenses. These, along with full medical insurance coverage of kidney recipients, make kidney transplantation available for every patient, regardless of the socioeconomic status due to its low cost. It is expected that a higher number of transplantation candidates with a low socioeconomic status will select transplantation.

Preoperative evaluation of living kidney donors using multirow detector computed tomography: comparison with digital subtraction angiography and intraoperative findings

To assess the accuracy of multirow detector computed tomography (MDCT) for the evaluation of renal anatomy for preoperative donor assessment in living related kidney transplantation. MDCT-scans (4- and 16-slice-CT) of 51 consecutive living kidney donors (age, 51.6 +/- 9.7 years; range, 28-68 years) were analysed by three blinded observers and compared with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and surgery. Contrast-enhanced MDCT was performed with 1 mm slice thickness reconstruction interval during arterial and venous phases. Supernumerary renal arteries, veins, early branching of vessels and abnormalities of the ureters were documented. The overall accuracy of computed tomography angiography (CTA) for detection and classification of surgically relevant arterial variants was 97% (99/102). The interpretation of 16-channel MDCT images was correct in all cases (accuracy, 100%), while the four-channel CTA had three incorrect results regarding the differentiation of early branching vessels from double renal arteries (accuracy, 93%). The overall accuracy of DSA was 91%. Renal vein abnormalities were correctly diagnosed with MDCT in 100% compared with 89% correct findings with DSA. There were three kidneys with incomplete ureter duplication, detected both with MDCT and DSA. MDCT demonstrated superior accuracy compared with non-selective DSA for the preoperative assessment of renal anatomy in living kidney donors; and for the distinction of supernumerary arteries versus early branching patterns, 16-channel CTA data were better than those of the four-channel system.

Consequences of eliminating HLA-B in deceased donor kidney allocation to increase minority transplantation

HLA matching contributes to the disparity in Caucasian compared to minority kidney transplantation. HLA-B locus matching was eliminated from kidney allocation to shift a projected 166 organs from Caucasians to minorities annually. This study estimated the economic and quality-of-life impact of this policy. Cost-effectiveness analysis was performed using a Markov model. Data from the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) were used to estimate race-specific outcomes, patient and graft survival, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and medical costs in U.S. dollars. The greatest benefit is expected in African Americans, with expected savings of US 7.5 million dollars and 243 QALYs. Smaller cost and QALY benefits are seen in other minority groups. In Caucasians, a loss of 7.0 million dollars and a decrease of 967 QALYs are expected with the shift of organs. Overall, this policy is expected to save US 5400 dollars for each QALY that is lost. The same increase in minority transplantation would be expected from increasing Caucasian donation rates by 5.5%, or African-American donation by 29.0%, each producing large cost savings and QALY gains. Policies to increase minority transplants by increasing donation rates may prove more cost effective than the elimination of HLA-B matching from deceased donor kidney allocation.

Cost-effectiveness of organ donation: evaluating investment into donor action and other donor initiatives

Initiatives aimed at increasing organ donation can be considered health care interventions, and will compete with other health care interventions for limited resources. We have developed a model capable of calculating the cost-utility of organ donor initiatives and applied it to Donor Action, a successful international program designed to optimize donor practices. The perspective of the payer in the Canadian health care system was chosen. A Markov model was developed to estimate the net present value incremental lifetime direct medical costs and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) as a consequence of increased kidney transplantation rates. Cost-saving and cost-effectiveness thresholds were calculated. The effects of changing the success rate and time frame of the intervention was examined as a sensitivity analysis. Transplantation results in a gain of 1.99 QALYs and a cost savings of Can$104,000 over the 20-year time frame compared with waiting on dialysis. Implementation of an intervention such as Donor Action, which produced as few as three extra donors per million population, would be cost-effective at a cost of Can$1.0 million per million population. The cost-effectiveness of Donor Action and other organ donor initiatives compare favorably to other health care interventions. Organ donation may be underfunded in North America.