Matching organ donors and patients

Abstract

In the transplantation it is illegal to sell organs for ethical reasons. In this market, demand is greater than supply and it is necessary to make the optimal allocation of scarce resources. This objective is achieved by using matching algorithms that mimic the market mechanism by finding the core of cooperative game. In the case of transplantation, there is a problem of incompatibility between patient and donor. Matching algorithm should produce revelation of patient preferences and Pareto efficient allocation. The algorithm used in organ transplantation is based on exchange cycles and chains between incompatible pairs allowing for a greater number of transplants. The results of the simulation show that transplants between three incompatible pairs are sufficient to achieve almost all gains from the exchange. A greater interval between the two matching periods allows for more transplants, but increases the cost of waiting.

Keywords

• matching
• transplantation
• top trading cycles and chains