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    Kidney Exchange: An Operations Perspective
    30 Mar 2021Working Paper Summaries

    Kidney Exchange: An Operations Perspective

    by Itai Ashlagi and Alvin E. Roth
    Kidney exchange has become a standard form of transplantation in the United States and a few other countries in part because of exchange process improvements. However, much more needs to be done: There are still many more patients in need of transplants than can be saved.
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    Author Abstract

    Many patients in need of a kidney transplant have a willing but incompatible (or poorly matched) living donor. Kidney exchange programs arrange exchanges among such patient-donor pairs, in cycles and chains of exchange, so each patient receives a compatible kidney. Kidney exchange has become a standard form of transplantation in the United States and a few other countries, in large part because of continued attention to the operational details that arose as obstacles were overcome and new obstacles became relevant. We review some of the key operational issues in the design of successful kidney exchange programs. Kidney exchange has yet to reach its full potential, and the paper further describes some open questions that we hope will continue to attract attention from researchers interested in the operational aspects of dynamic exchange.

    Paper Information

    • Full Working Paper Text
    • Working Paper Publication Date: February 2021
    • HBS Working Paper Number: NBER Working Paper Series, No. 28500
    • Faculty Unit(s): General Management
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    Alvin E. Roth
    Alvin E. Roth
    George Gund Professor of Economics and Business Administration, Emeritus
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