SIGNPOST – Sharing and InteGratiNg Patient perspectives on Organ Selection for Transplantation

The SIGNPOST study will commence in 2020. SIGNPOST aims to test a new way of incorporating the values and preferences of people waiting for a kidney transplant into the donor decision-making process.

Currently, patient values and preferences are entirely excluded from the organ donor procurement pathway. The SIGNPOST study tests the feasibility of eliciting and sharing biovigilance preferences for patients entering or currently wait-listed for kidney transplantation in a 2 stage process. Firstly it will develop and test a risk literacy training resource for the transplant context, with patients waitlisted for transplantation. The aim of this part of the SIGNPOST study is to help people on the waiting list better understand the size of risks in real terms. These might be risks of good or of bad outcomes.  Secondly, SIGNPOST will use decision aids to elicit personal values and preferences and to generate a personal biovigilance risk preference report for patients to use in consultation with their doctors. Once these reports are generated we hope to measure their usefulness by asking patients and their doctors about their experience.