Affdal A, Ballesteros F, Malo MF, Sancho C, Cochran-Mavrikakis SL, Bryan S, Keown P, Sapir-Pichhadze R, Fortin MC. Canadian Kidney Transplant Professionals' Perspectives on Precision Medicine and Molecular Matching in Kidney Allocation.
Transplant Direct 2024;
10:e1565. [PMID:
38111837 PMCID:
PMC10727564 DOI:
10.1097/txd.0000000000001565]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Background
Antibody-mediated rejection is an important cause of kidney transplant loss. A new strategy requiring application of precision medicine tools in transplantation considers molecular compatibility between donors and recipients and holds the promise of improved immunologic risk, preventing rejection and premature graft loss. The objective of this study was to gather Canadian transplant professionals' perspectives on molecular compatibility in kidney transplantation.
Methods
Seventeen Canadian transplant professionals (14 nephrologists, 2 nurses, and 1 surgeon) participated in semistructured interviews in 2021. The interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the qualitative description approach.
Results
Participants identified fair access to transplantation as the most important principle in kidney allocation. Molecular compatibility was viewed as a promising innovation. However, participants were concerned about increased waiting times, negative impact on some patients, and potential problems related to the adequacy of information explaining this new technology. To mitigate the challenges associated with molecular matching, participants suggested integrating a maximum waiting time for molecular-matched kidneys and expanding the program nationally/internationally.
Conclusions
Molecular matching in kidney transplantation is viewed as a promising technology for decreasing the incidence of antibody-mediated rejection and improving graft survival. Further studies are needed to determine how to ethically integrate this technology into the kidney allocation algorithm.
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