Researchers Leverage AI to Support Kidney Transplant Process

Researchers from Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) and Saint Louis University’s (SLU) School of Medicine are collaborating to investigate how artificial intelligence (AI) can support matchmaking between donated kidneys and transplant centers.

The project is funded by a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). It aims to bring together experts in organ transplantation and AI to ensure that more kidneys can be used by patients in need, according to the press release.

Currently, the process to facilitate organ utilization relies mainly on humans, and leveraging AI and other technologies is relatively new, the researchers noted.

“The big objective is to facilitate increased utilization of organs,” said Mark Schnitzler, PhD, professor of surgery at SLU’s School of Medicine, in the press release. “Many organs from deceased donors go unused for a variety of reasons. We want to use more of them. For patients, that would reduce the shortage of organs, increasing overall life expectancy and quality of life of people who need them.”

Schnitzler and his SLU colleagues will provide technical knowledge concerning data, clinical, and ethical aspects of organ allocation and transplantation for the project. They hope that an AI tool for organ utilization will help clinicians and organ procurement organizations (OPOs) make better decisions regarding organ acceptance.

“Greater incorporation of decision support tools like the one we are developing will help health care providers become more efficient in our workflows and daily processes,” said Henry Randall, MD, professor of surgery, executive director at SLUCare Transplant Center, and abdominal transplant division chief at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, in the press release. “Also, we are helping to define the characteristics of the algorithms used.”

The researchers further indicated that the AI tool may help clinicians make more data-driven decisions.

“Doctors, clinicians, and humans faced with identical information but at different times frequently make different choices, even though the situation isn’t different. An organ used on one day might be discarded on a different day even if it’s identical, even if the potential recipients are identical,” Schnitzler stated. “Faced with the same data, AI tools will give the same answer. I don’t think it replaces the clinician, but it can give them a reference, a benchmark, and they can make decisions with that additional knowledge.”

The project is being conducted in partnership with the United Network for Organ Sharing, SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, and Mid-America Transplant, a local OPO.

This research is part of a larger effort to improve the US organ transplant system and address its numerous inequities and inefficiencies.

Regarding kidney transplants, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) leveraged a telehealth platform early in the COVID-19 pandemic to help screen patients for a transplant. The platform utilized a three-tiered system and connected health platforms in place of some in-person visits, allowing MUSC to increase the number of evaluations and reduce the number of patients in the referral phase by almost 50 percent.