MKidney® system: a novel mobile health platform to improve living kidney donor care management

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) requires that transplant hospitals monitor living kidney donors (LKDs) for two years postdonation. However, transplant hospitals struggle to meet requirements for LKD follow‐up. Due to barriers such as cost, LKD inconvenience, and the burden of data collection, they lack the tools to improve LKD engagement. To address this, we built the mKidney® System based on input from LKDs, transplant providers, and thought leaders in the f eld. Methods: Key features of the mKidney® System include a HIPAA‐compliant patient‐facing smartphone app and transplant provider‐facing web portal, automated text messages, email push notif cations, and data export functionality. We are conducting an ongoing randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of mKidney® on rates of post‐donation follow‐up in preparation for a multi‐site clinical trial (NCT03400085). Participants are randomized to the intervention (mKidney® System) or control arm (standard of care) using block randomization, and follow‐up compliance is tracked over time (Figure). Follow‐up compliance is ascertained through linkage to the SRTR. Results: To date, our pilot study population includes 146 participants; of whom, 66 have 6‐month donor follow‐up available. Clinical follow‐up required for compliance was completed by 32/32 (100%) of participants in the mKidney® arm vs 33/34 (97%) of participants in the control arm (Fisher exact p>0.9). Required lab follow‐up was completed by 29/32 (90%) of participants in the mKidney® arm vs 27/34 participants (79%) in the control arm (Fisher exact p=0.18). Conclusions: The mKidney® System is a promising new solution to improve historically poor care management for LKDs.