Today the National Kidney Registry announced that all 1,200 of its microsite patients now have donor search coaches.
The NKR has partnered with the American Kidney Search Network (AKSN) to provide all current and future microsite patients with a coach. Coaches are experts in the donor search process and have successfully conducted a donor search campaign for either themselves or a loved one. The AKSN team has helped hundreds of patients successfully navigate the transplantation process and achieve a living donor transplant.
The center with the most microsites (143) is the University of Cincinnati, which represents approximately 90% of the UC waitlist patients. Dr. E. Steve Woodle, Director of Solid Organ Transplantation at UC, commented, “At Cincinnati, we push our patients to set up a microsite as soon as they begin the process, but the coach is the key to getting those microsite patients transplanted. I have been working with the AKSN for the past eight years, so I knew that it would be a powerful partnership when I introduced AKSN to the NKR.”
Debbie Parrish, a coach and the leader of the initiative to get all 1,200 microsite patients connected with a coach before Christmas, said, “It is wonderful to have a program such as the microsites that connects experienced coaches with patients in need of a transplant. When my husband was in need, and we struggled through the journey of kidney transplantation, we did not know anyone who had gone through this process themselves and, as a result, it was a steep learning curve. I am glad that we have this powerful capability, so others do not have to go it alone.”
Samantha Hil, Microsites Product Manager, said, “The goal of the microsite program was always to help patients find a living donor. Now, with the addition of the donor search coaches, the program has expanded into one that not only helps patients get the word out, but one that sets patients up for success in conducting a donor search campaign. We can now assign a coach to every new microsite patient, ensuring that everyone using the program will have the best odds of finding a living donor. Microsites are doubling every year, so we expect to be hosting approximately 5,000 microsites in two years, and with the help of our amazing coaches, the microsite program should be facilitating over 1,000 additional living donor transplants by 2025.”