Social Media Use Among Living Kidney Donors and Recipients: Survey on Current Practice and Potential

In the United States, there is a national shortage of organs donated for transplant. Among the solid organs, most often kidneys are donated by living donors, but the lack of information and complicated processes limit the number of individuals who serve as living kidney donors. Social media can be a tool for advocacy, educating the public about the need, process, and outcomes of live kidney donors, yet little is known about social media use by kidney transplant patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the social media use of potential kidney transplant patients and their willingness to use social media and their networks to advocate and educate about living kidney donation. Using a validated survey, we modified the instrument to apply to the patient population of interest attending the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. The questions on the survey inquired about current social media use, sites visited, frequency and duration of social media use, and willingness to use social media to share the need for living kidney donors. We asked patients who had received a transplant and those awaiting a transplant to complete the survey during an office visit. Participation was voluntary. A total of 199 patients completed the survey. Approximately half of all kidney transplant patients surveyed used social media (104/199, 52.3%), and approximately one-third (66/199, 33.2%) had more than 100 friends in their social media network. Facebook was the most popular site, and 51% (102/199) reported that they would be willing to post information about living kidney donation on their social networks. More than a quarter of the sample (75/199, 37.7%) had posted about their health status in the past. Social media holds great promise for health-related education and awareness. Our study shows the current social media use of kidney transplant patients. In turn, such information can be used to design interventions to ensure appropriate decision making about live kidney donation. Transplant programs can help increase the number of living donors by providing guidance to kidney transplant patients in how to use social media, to be advocates, and to provide information about living kidney donation to their social network.