title: The Canadian kidney paired donation program: a national program to increase living donor transplantation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Establishment of a national kidney paired donation (KPD) program represents a unique achievement in Canada's provincially organized health care system.
  
  
  METHODS
  Key factors enabling program implementation included consultation with international experts, formation of a unique organization with a mandate to facilitate interprovincial collaboration, and the volunteer efforts of members of the Canadian transplant community to overcome a variety of logistical barriers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As of December 2013, the program had facilitated 240 transplantations including 10% with Calculated panel reactive antibody (cPRA) ≥97%. Unique features of the Canadian KPD program include participation of n = 55 nondirected donors, performance of only donor specific antibody negative transplants, the requirement for donor travel, and nonuse of bridge donors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The national KPD program has helped maintain the volume of living kidney donor transplants in Canada over the past 5 years and serves as a model of inter-provincial collaboration to improve the delivery of health care to Canadians.
authors.affiliation: 1 Renal Transplant Program, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada. 2 Renal Transplant Program, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg & Canadian Blood Services, Ottawa, Canada. 3 Department of Medicine and Laboratory Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. 4 Canadian Blood Services, Ottawa, Canada. 5 Renal Transplant Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada. 6 Division of Nephrology, University of British Columbia, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. 7 Center for Health Evaluation and Outcomes Sciences, Vancouver, Canada. 8 Tuft's New England Medical Center, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Edward H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nickerson
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yetzer
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lahaie
authors.forename: Jeffery
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zaltzman
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Gill
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System / Q000276:immunology; D001787:Blood Group Incompatibility; D002170:Canada; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D019520:Living Donors; D009313:National Health Programs
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System