Barriers to getting a living-donor liver transplant
Assessing Multi-level Barriers to Living Liver Donor Transplantation
This project looks at the social and health-system obstacles that make it harder for Black people with end-stage liver disease to receive living-donor liver transplants.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11128646 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers at Vanderbilt will work with people waiting for liver transplants, their potential donors, and caregivers to learn about real-world obstacles that block living-donor transplants. They will combine medical record and registry data with interviews and surveys to track how factors like distance to centers, insurance, neighborhood resources, and caregiver support affect access. The team will compare experiences across groups to pinpoint where delays or dropouts occur during donor evaluation and transplant listing. Findings will be used to design practical steps to help more eligible people get living-donor transplants.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are Black adults with end-stage liver disease who are waiting for or being evaluated for liver transplant, along with their potential living liver donors and caregivers.
Not a fit: People without end-stage liver disease, those already matched with a deceased-donor liver, or those medically ineligible for living-donor transplant are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help more Black patients access living-donor liver transplants and reduce deaths on the transplant waitlist.
How similar studies have performed: Past retrospective studies have linked factors like distance, insurance, and neighborhood income to transplant disparities and living-donor liver transplant is an established treatment, but targeted, prospective work focused on Black patients is limited.
Where this research is happening
Nashville, United States
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center — Nashville, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gordon, Elisa J — Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Gordon, Elisa J
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.