Korean J Transplant.  2023 Nov;37(Suppl 1):S225. 10.4285/ATW2023.F-8135.

Survey on kidney transplantation awareness among hemodialysis patients at a single center in Japan

• Masaki N
• Narahara H

• KMID: 2551845
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4285/ATW2023.F-8135

Abstract

Background
Japan has around 350,000 hemodialysis patients, but the annual number of kidney transplantation (KTx) remains low at about 1,700. This may be due to the limited knowledge about KTx among hemodialysis patients. Hence, we conducted a simple survey with hemodialysis patients in our hospital to study awareness of KTx.
Methods
The survey was focused on 61 patients who undergo hemodialysis treatment at our hospital. The survey covered topics such as sex, age, duration of hemodialysis, primary cause of end-stage renal failure, whether they know about KTx, whether they know about deceased kidney donor transplantation among patients who has the knowledge about KTx, whether KTx was proposed at the end-stage of renal failure, and willingness to take KTx.
Results
Fifty-nine respondents (97%) were included in the survey. There were 41 males (69%) and 18 females (31%). The average age was 72.2±10.7 years, and the average duration of dialysis was 8.1±7.3 years. The primary causes of end-stage renal failure were as follows: diabetic nephropathy, 30 (51%); chronic glomerulonephritis, 9 (15%); nephrosclerosis, 6 (10%); IgA nephropathy, 2 (3%); and others, 12 (20%). Forty (68%) had knowledge about KTx, and among them, 31 of 40 (78%) had knowledge about deceased donor KTx. Eighteen patients (31%) reported that they were informed about KTx when they are diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, and 19 patients (32%) expressed a desire to undergo KTx.
Conclusions
The survey findings show that a small number of patients were offered the choice of KTx before receiving hemodialysis. Moreover, patients were not very interested in KTx because of limited knowledge. This suggests that medical providers in Japan are not giving enough information about KTx.