Kidney Transplants and Matching Markets
Currently, more than 100,000 people worldwide are waiting for kidney transplants. Economist Alvin Roth works with matching markets to simplify this process. He helped create a database of individuals “who were willing to participate in a kidney exchange.” His research indicated that having non-directed donors, donors without a specific recipient, would eliminate the need for simultaneous exchanges. The goal of Roth’s work with matching markets and kidney transplants is to help solve the organ shortage and ultimately make kidney transplants more accessible.
Roth’s research relates to our course discussions on matching markets. In the article, “How An Economist Helped Patients Find The Right Kidney Donors,” Roth mentions that, since it is illegal to put a monetary value on an organ, kidney transplants are a good example of a matching market; the matching is reduced to blood compatibility issues. In this matching market, matching blood types is a key factor in securing a kidney. In class, preferences for dorm rooms was given as an example of a matching market; in the case of kidney transplants, instead of personal preferences of a room type, the matching is solely dependent on blood type. A current problem with kidney transplants is that a perfect matching doesn’t exist, often due to non-matching blood types or simply a lack of donors.
In the example above, there are an equal number of donors and donees. Blood types O+ and A+ are the most popular, while AB+ and AB- are the least popular. Because certain blood types are not as popular as others, some patients struggle to find matching donors.
Another obstacle in organ transplants is the imbalance between the overwhelming number of patients needing transplants and the number of donors. Assuming all patients and donors have the same blood type (shown in the graph above), there is still the disparity between the number of organs needed and those available. Hopefully Roth’s research will help solve the issues with the current transplant system and help find a perfect matching.