Kiwis hit ‘like’ for a kidney donor

Growing numbers of New Zealanders are turning to social media to find kidney donors.

And those working to facilitate organ donation are encouraging the move, saying more can and should be done to help those in need of a new kidney.

A recent New Zealand study of patients with end-stage renal disease revealed many found it hard to ask for a kidney – about half of the 15 participants said they had never approached anyone.

The study’s author, clinical nurse specialist Merryn Jones, works as a donor co-ordinator and discovered many patients in need of a kidney were reluctant to approach family and friends. Jones said tailored support was needed to help those patients.

‘‘If we’re looking at increasing rates of renal transplants within New Zealand, then patients having to recruit donors is a barrier in itself,’’ Jones said.

As of December 2017, there were 463 New Zealanders on the waiting list to receive a kidney. Jones advocates for the development of a screening tool to assess patients’ communication skills, willingness and motivation to accept donation, and cultural needs. Many Ma¯ ori and Pasifika patients had limited donor recruitment opportunities within their extended families because of relatively high rates of diabetes, unmanaged hypertension and other diseases. The screening tool could be developed by the Health Ministry with guidance from psychologists, she said.

‘‘Sometimes when a person is diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, they might feel their life doesn’t have a lot of value and they think why should they take something from someone who is fit and well,’’ Jones said.

Jones said a positive development has been patients’ growing use of social media to help connect with possible organ donors. Jones knew of a Hawke’s Bay man who shared his need for a new kidney on Facebook. Within 24 hours, he’d received three offers, including one from Australia and another from the United States. The benefit of using social media was it crossed borders and could reach people who may be willing to donate a kidney but had never been asked.

Jones’s research has been published in the May 4 issue of the NZ Medical Journal.