Improving access to home dialysis and repeat kidney transplants
Official title: Reaching Equity in ACess to Home Dialysis And Re-Transplantation (REACH-DART)
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11023119 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A program to help people who lose a kidney transplant—especially Black and Hispanic patients—get back on the transplant list sooner and return to home dialysis when possible.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | May 15, 2022 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $679,060 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK132271-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11023119 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people who previously received a kidney transplant and now have graft failure, especially Black and Hispanic patients who might be eligible for peritoneal dialysis or relisting.
✕Less likely to help
People who never had a transplant, who are not medically eligible for peritoneal dialysis or repeat transplantation, or who cannot attend participating clinics may not benefit directly.
What this research studies
If your transplanted kidney fails, this project looks at why some people don't get relisted for a second transplant or return to peritoneal home dialysis. The team will review medical records, talk with patients and care teams, and identify practical barriers like referral timing, education gaps, or access issues. They will focus on differences affecting Black and Hispanic transplant recipients to understand why relisting and home dialysis rates are low. The aim is to pilot changes that help more people access home dialysis and timely re-transplantation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, more former transplant patients—particularly Black and Hispanic individuals—could regain access to home dialysis and be relisted for a second transplant sooner, improving health and quality of life.
How similar studies have gone: Other programs to increase home dialysis and earlier transplant referral have shown benefits in some settings, but targeted efforts for former transplant recipients and racial disparities are relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ku, Elaine — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Ku, Elaine
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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How dialysis facility growth affects care for people with end-stage kidney disease
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MOVE Trial: Tailored motivational support to help African Americans stick with dialysis
A study tests a customized motivational interviewing approach to help African American dialysis patients stay adherent to their treatment, aiming to reduce hospitalizations and improve health.
-
Blood sugar monitoring for people on maintenance dialysis
This project tests how continuous glucose monitoring can better track blood sugar in people on dialysis to improve diabetes care and prevent complications.
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Quality of life for people on home dialysis and their family caregivers
This grant studies how living with home dialysis affects daily life and the well-being of patients and their family caregivers.
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Patient-provider conversations and unequal access to home dialysis and kidney transplant
This project explores how conversations between doctors and patients affect why some Black and Hispanic people with kidney disease don’t get home dialysis or preemptive kidney transplants as often as White or Asian patients.
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CHOOSE Home: Using community health workers to boost home dialysis and social care in CKD
A real-world trial tests adding community health workers to an interdisciplinary CKD clinic to help patients access home dialysis options.
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.