Maximizing paired kidney donation
Sommer Gentry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Kidney transplantation is the best option for many end-stage-renal-disease patients, but about one-third of patients who have a willing live donor will find that they have an incompatibility that prevents the direct donation. Paired kidney exchange is an innovative but embryonic approach that allows an incompatible donor/recipient pair to exchange kidneys with another donor and recipient in a similar situation. It is critical that the best method of selecting patients and donors to exchange kidneys be chosen before any national paired donation program begins, so we examine different algorithms for arranging paired kidney exchanges on simulated patient populations. Optimal matchings over a graph representing the incompatible pairs and possible trades can guarantee that the available patient-donor pairs are matched to the greatest possible benefit. Maximum edge weight matching affords opportunities both to customize each patient's match to his preferences and to protect disadvantaged groups.
Abstract Author(s): Sommer Gentry, Dorry Segev, M.D., and Robert M. Montgomery, M.D., Ph.D.