Improving equity in access to kidney transplantation: implementing targeted models of care focused on improving timely access to waitlisting

Kidney transplantation provides better quality and quantity of life for people with kidney failure. However, of the 14% of all prevalent dialysis patients who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander within the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant (ANZDATA) Registry, only 2% were waitlisted in 2021, compared with 8% of non-Indigenous patients who were waitlisted. Equitably addressing this waitlisting gap was a significant priority of the National Indigenous Kidney Transplant Taskforce (NIKTT). Many barriers impede Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live with dialysis from accessing waitlisting, including slow or delayed assessments and referrals, cultural bias, misinformation, and the difficulties of distance.