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Living DonorsmHealthNCT03400085

Pilot Study of an mHealth Intervention for Living Donor Follow-up

A study testing mHealth application in people with Living Donors and Nephrectomy, run by Johns Hopkins University at 2 sites in United States.

Active, not recruiting

Under way, not looking for participants. Everyone needed has enrolled. The study is still running.

Official record
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Trial summary

The investigators are interested in whether or not the use of a mobile health (mHealth) application increases the rate of follow-up compliance among living kidney donors. The investigators aim to test this by randomly assigning living kidney donors to the intervention (use of mHealth application to complete required… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Living Donors, Nephrectomy, Kidney
What is being tested?
mHealth application
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
400 participants
Where
2 sitesUnited States
Study dates
1 May 2018to 31 Dec 2026
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Adults (≥18 years)
  • Have undergone live donor nephrectomy at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio, Texas
  • Have undergone live donor nephrectomy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee

Who cannot join

  • Participants will only be excluded if they do not consent to the study

Trial locations and contacts

2 sites in 1 country.

United States2 sites
  • Vanderbilt University Medical Center

    Nashville, Tennessee, 37232

  • Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital

    San Antonio, Texas, 78229

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Pilot Study of a Mobile Health Intervention for Living Donor Follow-up

The investigators are interested in whether or not the use of a mobile health (mHealth) application increases the rate of follow-up compliance among living kidney donors. The investigators aim to test this by randomly assigning living kidney donors to the intervention (use of mHealth application to complete required living kidney donor follow-up at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years) or control arm (standard of care) upon discharge from their initial donation hospitalization, and tracking follow-up compliance over time. The study population will be approximately 400 living kidney donors who undergo donor nephrectomy at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital (200/year for 2 years).

The investigators will also recruit patients from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center into the study, however, these study participants are not a part of the Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT).

Read the detailed description

Living kidney donation has been promoted as the 'best treatment option' for eligible patients with end-stage renal disease on the transplant waitlist by the American Society of Transplantation. In 2017, 5,264 living kidney donor (LKD) transplants were performed in the United States, representing over one-third of all kidney transplants performed nationally. While living donor nephrectomy is viewed as an overall safe procedure, the surgery does carry associated potential risks, including out-of-pocket costs, difficulty obtaining insurance, and long-term health complications. In 2013, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) passed new regulations requiring transplant hospitals to collect living kidney donor (LKD) follow-up data for a minimum of 2 years post-donation. Despite this national mandate, less than 50% of transplant hospitals were able to meet reporting thresholds for LKDs who donated in 2013. Documented challenges to collecting this data include cost, donor inconvenience, and data collection burden.

Therefore, novel methods are required to address incomplete donor follow-up. The investigators believe that mobile health (mHealth) systems, such as smartphone applications, would provide an effective, low-cost method of improving living donor follow-up rates. The investigators have built an mHealth system designed for reporting and collecting LKD follow-up data. The mHealth application was created based on previous studies conducted by the study team on the attitudes and perceptions of LKDs at a single transplant center on the use of mHealth for LKD follow-up, as well as after eliciting input from transplant thought leaders in the United States through semi-structured interviews. The aim of this study is to pilot test the mHealth system and compare the investigators' ability to achieve required follow-up at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years against controls to help estimate potential effect sizes of the intervention.

Being tested
mHealth application
Keywords
mHealth, living donor kidney transplant, follow-up, health utilization

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • mHealth applicationOther

    Also called Application

    The intervention is an mHealth smartphone application designed for living kidney donors to complete their required 2-year follow-up. It allows the donor to input the answers to the clinical survey responses, as well as upload a picture of their lab values.

Study groups in NCT03400085
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Standard of CareNo interventionThe control participants will be instructed to attend required follow-up as is standard of care, and will not receive the mHealth application.
mHealth applicationExperimentalParticipants in the intervention arm will receive the mHealth application at their first post-donation clinic visit. Study personnel will assist participants assigned to the mHealth intervention arm with downloading the application and explain its functioning. Participants will then use the application to complete their required 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year follow-up.
Receives: Other: mHealth application

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. 6-month compliance to follow-up

    Compliance with submitting questionnaires and laboratory values within 60 days of the six-month donation anniversary. Participants in the intervention arm will receive notifications when their follow-up is available to complete via the mHealth app, and subsequent notifications thereafter until either the donor completes both clinical and laboratory components of the required follow-up, or they are no longer compliant and within the 60-day window. Participants in the control arm will complete their follow-up as is current standard of care at Texas Transplant Institute.

    Measured: 6 months

  2. 1-year compliance to follow-up

    Compliance with submitting questionnaires and laboratory values within 60 days of the 1-year donation anniversary. Participants in the intervention arm will receive notifications when their follow-up is available to complete via the mHealth app, and subsequent notifications thereafter until either the donor completes both clinical and laboratory components of the required follow-up, or they are no longer compliant and within the 60-day window. Participants in the control arm will complete their follow-up as is current standard of care at Texas Transplant Institute.

    Measured: 1 year

  3. 2-year compliance to follow-up

    Compliance with submitting questionnaires and laboratory values within 60 days of the 2-year donation anniversary. Participants in the intervention arm will receive notifications when their follow-up is available to complete via the mHealth app, and subsequent notifications thereafter until either the donor completes both clinical and laboratory components of the required follow-up, or they are no longer compliant and within the 60-day window. Participants in the control arm will complete their follow-up as is current standard of care at Texas Transplant Institute.

    Measured: 2 years

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. 6-month center follow-up compliance

    Overall center rate of compliance with follow-up with 80% of all donors within 60 days of the six-month donation anniversary.

    Measured: 6 months

  2. 1-year center follow-up compliance

    Overall center rate of compliance with follow-up with 80% of all donors within 60 days of the 1-year donation anniversary.

    Measured: 1 year

  3. 2-year center follow-up compliance

    Overall center rate of compliance with follow-up with 80% of all donors within 60 days of the 2-year donation anniversary.

    Measured: 2 years

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted17 Jan 2018
  2. Study start1 May 2018
  3. Primary completion31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
  4. Study completion31 Dec 2026 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
This is a single-center, prospective, randomized control trial with two arms. Participants in the intervention arm will use an mHealth application to complete their mandated living kidney donor follow-up at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years, and participants in the control arm will receive the current standard of follow-up care and complete their required follow-up without the use of an mHealth application. Living Kidney Donors at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center are also being given the option to use the mKidney system, however, these study participants are not a part of the Pilot RCT.
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
400 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03400085
Sponsor's protocol ID
IRB00162212
Other IDs
K01DK114388
Acronym
mHealth
Status last verified
Dec 2025
First submitted
9 Jan 2018
Last updated
16 Dec 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • LaPointe Rudow D, Hays R, Baliga P, Cohen DJ, Cooper M, Danovitch GM, Dew MA, Gordon EJ, Mandelbrot DA, McGuire S, Milton J, Moore DR, Morgievich M, Schold JD, Segev DL, Serur D, Steiner RW, Tan JC, Waterman AD, Zavala EY, Rodrigue JR. Consensus conference on best practices in live kidney donation: recommendations to optimize education, access, and care. Am J Transplant. 2015 Apr;15(4):914-22. doi: 10.1111/ajt.13173. Epub 2015 Feb 3.

    PubMed 25648884
  • Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. National Data 2017.

  • Boyarsky BJ, Massie AB, Alejo JL, Van Arendonk KJ, Wildonger S, Garonzik-Wang JM, Montgomery RA, Deshpande NA, Muzaale AD, Segev DL. Experiences obtaining insurance after live kidney donation. Am J Transplant. 2014 Sep;14(9):2168-72. doi: 10.1111/ajt.12819. Epub 2014 Jul 16.

    PubMed 25041695
  • Rodrigue JR, Schold JD, Morrissey P, Whiting J, Vella J, Kayler LK, Katz D, Jones J, Kaplan B, Fleishman A, Pavlakis M, Mandelbrot DA; KDOC Study Group. Predonation Direct and Indirect Costs Incurred by Adults Who Donated a Kidney: Findings From the KDOC Study. Am J Transplant. 2015 Sep;15(9):2387-93. doi: 10.1111/ajt.13286. Epub 2015 May 5.

    PubMed 25943721
  • Segev DL, Muzaale AD, Caffo BS, Mehta SH, Singer AL, Taranto SE, McBride MA, Montgomery RA. Perioperative mortality and long-term survival following live kidney donation. JAMA. 2010 Mar 10;303(10):959-66. doi: 10.1001/jama.2010.237.

    PubMed 20215610
  • OPTN Policy 18 Living Donor Data Submission Requirements. 2016: 220.

  • Henderson ML, Thomas AG, Shaffer A, Massie AB, Luo X, Holscher CM, Purnell TS, Lentine KL, Segev DL. The National Landscape of Living Kidney Donor Follow-Up in the United States. Am J Transplant. 2017 Dec;17(12):3131-3140. doi: 10.1111/ajt.14356. Epub 2017 Jun 30.

    PubMed 28510355
  • Ommen ES, LaPointe Rudow D, Medapalli RK, Schroppel B, Murphy B. When good intentions are not enough: obtaining follow-up data in living kidney donors. Am J Transplant. 2011 Dec;11(12):2575-81. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-6143.2011.03815.x. Epub 2011 Nov 4.

    PubMed 22054024
  • Mandelbrot DA, Pavlakis M. Living donor practices in the United States. Adv Chronic Kidney Dis. 2012 Jul;19(4):212-9. doi: 10.1053/j.ackd.2012.04.010.

    PubMed 22732040
  • Waterman AD, Dew MA, Davis CL, McCabe M, Wainright JL, Forland CL, Bolton L, Cooper M. Living-donor follow-up attitudes and practices in U.S. kidney and liver donor programs. Transplantation. 2013 Mar 27;95(6):883-8. doi: 10.1097/TP.0b013e31828279fd.

    PubMed 23388736
  • Mandelbrot DA, Pavlakis M, Karp SJ, Johnson SR, Hanto DW, Rodrigue JR. Practices and barriers in long-term living kidney donor follow-up: a survey of U.S. transplant centers. Transplantation. 2009 Oct 15;88(7):855-60. doi: 10.1097/TP.0b013e3181b6dfb9.

    PubMed 19935453
  • Fleming JN, Taber DJ, McElligott J, McGillicuddy JW, Treiber F. Mobile Health in Solid Organ Transplant: The Time Is Now. Am J Transplant. 2017 Sep;17(9):2263-2276. doi: 10.1111/ajt.14225. Epub 2017 Mar 17.

    PubMed 28188681

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing mHealth application in people with Living Donors and Nephrectomy, run by Johns Hopkins University at 2 sites in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 16 Dec 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 2 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

6-month compliance to follow-up (time frame: 6 months). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03400085, which also lists 12 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 16 Dec 2025.

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