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Identifying potential kidney donors using social networking web sites
Author(s) -
Chang Alexander,
Anderson Emily E.,
Turner Hang T.,
Shoham David,
Hou Susan H.,
Grams Morgan
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
clinical transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.918
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1399-0012
pISSN - 0902-0063
DOI - 10.1111/ctr.12122
Subject(s) - medicine , donation , social media , internet privacy , kidney transplantation , transplantation , world wide web , surgery , computer science , economics , economic growth
Social networking sites like F acebook may be a powerful tool for increasing rates of live kidney donation. They allow for wide dissemination of information and discussion and could lessen anxiety associated with a face‐to‐face request for donation. However, sparse data exist on the use of social media for this purpose. We searched F acebook, the most popular social networking site, for publicly available English‐language pages seeking kidney donors for a specific individual, abstracting information on the potential recipient, characteristics of the page itself, and whether potential donors were tested. In the 91 pages meeting inclusion criteria, the mean age of potential recipients was 37 (range: 2–69); 88% were US residents. Other posted information included the individual's photograph (76%), blood type (64%), cause of kidney disease (43%), and location (71%). Thirty‐two percent of pages reported having potential donors tested, and 10% reported receiving a live‐donor kidney transplant. Those reporting donor testing shared more potential recipient characteristics, provided more information about transplantation, and had higher page traffic. Facebook is already being used to identify potential kidney donors. Future studies should focus on how to safely, ethically, and effectively use social networking sites to inform potential donors and potentially expand live kidney donation.