Perception Regarding Live Kidney Donation in the General Population of South Korea

Abstract

Background: It is necessary to know how the general population recognizes live kidney donation in Korea, where living donor kidney transplantations (KT) are the mainstream.Methods: Participants were randomly selected from the general population after proportional allocation by region, sex, and age. Selected participants received a questionnaire that included demographic information, socioeconomic and marital statuses, prior recognition of live donor KT, expected changes after donation, and the need for support after donor nephrectomy.Results: In total, 1,000 participants responded to the web-based survey. After reading the detailed explanation, 83.8% of the respondents answered that they fully understood living donor KT. Among the participants, 811(81.1%) answered that they knew about living donor KT, and 51.1% were willing to donate. Various complications after nephrectomy (54.4%) and deterioration in health after donation (69.1%) were the most important reasons for those who were reluctant to donate, and the possibility of a decrease in economic activities after donation accounted for 33.8%. Overall, 73.2% were more likely to agree that the government should provide social and economic support to living kidney donors; this number increased to 81.3% after exposure to the description of donor nephrectomy (P<0.001). Financial support, including surgery (74.2%) and regular medical check-up costs (70.1%), was the most preferred government support.Conclusions: The Korean general population seemed to be aware of the value and safety of kidney donation, although only half of them were willing to donate due to concerns about possible complications. Most participants agreed on social and economic support for living kidney donors, especially for surgery-related costs.