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Although more than 100,000 people are on the national transplant waiting list in the U.S., thousands of donated kidneys are discarded each year, often because they're slightly older, with fewer years of remaining function.

Researchers at Virginia Tech and other institutions led a study of a potential redesign of the national kidney transplant system that matches older organs more efficiently with patients older than 65.

Their results, published in the journal Management Science, showed that a new program could result in more than 900 additional kidney transplants each year, potentially preventing more than 190 deaths.

The research examines a voluntary approach known as a targeted priority mechanism. Inspired by the Eurotransplant Senior Program, it targets candidates age 65 or older on the waiting list by offering them kidneys that others consider "marginal"—for instance, kidneys from older adults.

Patients who agree to accept harder-to-place kidneys are prioritized and moved to the front of the waiting list in exchange for giving up access to kidneys outside that group.

"This encourages more efficient matching without forcing patients to accept organ offers or requiring a complete redesign of the current allocation system," said Sait Tunc, an assistant professor in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, who led the multi-institutional research team.

"This program is not only beneficial to those who participate but also to younger patients who are not eligible for it, because higher-quality organs can be better matched to patients with higher post-transplant life expectancy.

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