Table 5.

Potential interventions for US kidney transplant registries

Potential Interventions for US Kidney Transplant Registries
1. Data sharing agreements between all three registries and regular audits to ensure consistency of data being provided to researchers and regulatory agencies
2. Data sharing agreements between all three registries and regular audits to ensure consistency of data being provided to researchers and regulatory agencies
3. Development of a clear algorithm for determining whether there is a failed allograft or patient death, i.e., consistent across all three registries when there are discordant data being reported by different sources
4. Triangulation of data on outcomes for external sources to eliminate the risk of underreporting (inadvertent or otherwise) of adverse events. For example, deaths after graft failure are likely to be absent from the OPTN and SRTR registries but not from USRDS as a function of the data collection methods
5. Development of a researchers guide that outlines the limitations of the outcomes data (i.e., graft failure and deaths)
6. Transparency in the methods being used to ascertain outcomes so that any potential systemic biases that researchers and regulators can be considered as they develop their analytic plans

OPTN, Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network; SRTR, Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipient; USRDS. United States Renal Data System.