Supported Research

Lay Summary

Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for patients with kidney failure (KF). However, there is some evidence that women may be less likely to receive a kidney transplant than men. Whether this applies to Canada is unknown, and whether there are barriers to Canadian women being referred for transplant consideration, accepted and placed on the transplant waitlist once referred, or receiving a transplant once on the waitlist (or all of the above) requires study.

In this study we will examine differences in access to kidney transplant for men and women in two ways. First, we will create a series of identical cases of male and female patients with KF. We will present a combination of these cases to kidney specialists from across Canada and ask whether they would consider the patient possibly eligible for transplant and refer them for formal consideration and placement on the transplant waitlist, or not. We will then determine if there is a difference in referral rates for men versus women, and if the gender of the responding doctor impacts this result (ex. are female doctors more or less likely to refer female patients)?

Second, we will explore rates of kidney transplant in patients with KF from Nova Scotia between 2010- 2020 to determine if there was a difference between male and female patients in the likelihood of being referred for transplant consideration, accepted and placed on the transplant waitlist once referred, or receiving a transplant once on the waitlist.

This study will be important to identify if there is a difference in transplant rates in Canada between men and women, and if so, why? Identifying these differences is the first step towards fixing them.