2022 CST T3 Dragon’s Den Grant Competition success: Dr. Holly Mansell

The CDTRP would like to congratulate Dr. Holly Mansell for her success at the 2022 CST T3 Dragon’s Den Grant Competition. Dr. Mansell faced off against finalists fellow CDTRP investigator Dr. Shaifali Sandal (McGill University) and McMaster University investigator Dr. Seychelle Yohanna in a face-to-face Dragon’s Den at the CST Meeting in Banff on September 21. All three finalists presented their innovative ideas to convince the Transplant Dragons and the audience that their project deserves the top prize.

Dr. Mansell’s project: “Patient-centered video education to facilitate shared decision-making about deceased donor kidneysemerged on top after some stiff competition.
About the project

Patients awaiting transplantation continue to die on the waitlist, meanwhile, a concerning number of kidneys continue to be discarded. These kidneys (e.g., expanded donor or extended criteria, marginal, high Kidney Donor Profile Index, [KDPI] or less than ideal kidneys, [LTI]) have been shown to provide benefit to a specific population of patients with end-stage renal disease. Furthermore, physicians often decline deceased donor kidney offers on behalf of their patients without a discussion with them. The consequence of this missed opportunity is an increased risk of death without transplantation.

Their objective is to develop and pilot a patient-centered video to facilitate the shared decision-making process when a deceased donor organ is offered. The video will be co-created with patients in English and French and shared nationally with healthcare providers, filling the need for a standardized, pan-Canadian educational strategy as identified by patients. The project will be conducted according to three phases: 1) A national survey of transplant recipients, candidates and caregivers will identify knowledge gaps and educational needs around kidney offer acceptance; 2) Video development, will consist of pre-production, production and post-production activities; and 3) A pilot study will assess patient experiences with the video education in the target population.

Their interdisciplinary team consists of health care providers, researchers, and patients. Holly Mansell and Nicola Rosaasen are pharmacists/researchers with experience in patient-oriented research, video development and assessment and survey methodology. Marie-Chantal Fortin, Héloise Cardinal and Rahul Mainra are nephrologists/researchers with expertise in ethics, patient partnerships, epidemiology and qualitative research. Sylvain Patoine and Mary Beaucage are patients with lived experience. The team is supported by the Canadian Blood Services’ Optimizing Utilization of Deceased Donor Kidneys Steering Committee, the CDTRP Patient, Family and Donor Partnership Platform; a video producer; animator; sound technician; and will involve patients throughout the process.

The CDTRP is proud to support this innovative project, and looks forward to disseminating the results of this project with our community as the work proceeds. The CDTRP would also like to congratulate CDTRP investigator Dr. Shaifali Sandal on becoming a successful finalist in this competition.

CONGRATULATIONS!