Current Kidney Allocation Process
• Stakeholder-Driven, Manual Process: Involves Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs), Transplant Centers (TXC), and patients, where manual decisions and communications impact the allocation.
• High Demand vs. Low Supply: Nearly five times as many waitlisted patients as available kidneys, leading to limited availability and increased pressure on the system.
• Kidney Discard Issue: Over 30% of donated deceased donor kidneys are discarded, partly due to quality issues and missed allocation opportunities.
• Delays in Allocation: High-risk kidneys often face slower allocation, which reduces the organ's viability and transplant success.
• Policy Changes and Evaluation: Changes to allocation policies are manually assessed, with no standardized tool for pre-implementation simulation or validation.
Benefits of AI-Assisted Kidney Allocation
• Enhanced Decision Support: AI would systematically analyze and match candidates with available kidneys in real-time, optimizing for the “right candidate, right donor, right time.”
• Reduced Kidney Discard: A data-driven AI system could minimize unnecessary kidney discard by better evaluating quality and discard, leading to more transplants.
• Improved Communication Across Stakeholders: AI models could facilitate faster information flow among OPOs and TXCs.
• Data-Driven Allocation Decisions: With AI's use of historical and current data, the system can continuously refine matching criteria based on evolving trends and transplant outcomes.
• Simulation and Policy Evaluation: Digital simulation capabilities would allow for the testing and refinement of policies, anticipating the effects of policy changes before implementation.
• Increased Organ Quality through Efficiency: AI-based decision support could reduce allocation delays for high-risk kidneys, preserving their viability and ensuring quicker transplants.
