Transplant Recipient Experience With Belatacept Therapy.

ABSTRACT

Although graft and patient outcomes with belatacept have been relatively well documented, the decision to use belatacept for kidney transplant recipients rests in part on the patient experience with a monthly infusion. These details are poorly documented in the literature. This study describes the personal impact of using belatacept to facilitate shared and informed decision-making regarding the choice of immunosuppression among transplant providers, transplant coordinators, and patients. This study finds that participants are generally satisfied with their experience in receiving belatacept infusions. They report that the potential or actual benefits of belatacept justify possible drawbacks, such as time spent for travel and infusion, limited control over infusion planning, no decrease in insulin requirements, and multiple intravenous attempts. Although this study is limited to one institution and would benefit from replication, these findings begin to fill an important gap in current research.