Here's a Stanford story celebrating Itai Ashlagi's role in this summer's UAE-Israel kidney exchange. (His matching software is embedded in the software suite of the Alliance for Paired Kidney Exchange (AKPD) which is a partner with a remarkable Abu Dhabi effort to further kidney exchange.)
Stanford engineers develop algorithm to aid kidney transplant exchanges. A historic and complex kidney exchange between Israel and Abu Dhabi put a spotlight on the Stanford algorithm that made it all possible. BY ANDREW MYERS. AUGUST 12, 2021
"A historic kidney transplant exchange recently took place in the Middle East, but it might never have transpired without an algorithm developed at Stanford by Itai Ashlagi, a Stanford associate professor of management science and engineering, and his graduate student Sukolsak Sakshuwong. In all, three ailing recipients received life-sustaining transplants while three healthy donors gave kidneys.
...
"“One of the nice things in the software we developed is the user interface. We collect all the relevant patient data, but then we let the user play with the various thresholds that determine successful matches to see what works for them,” Ashlagi said as he explained the team’s game-like approach to matching. The software acts as a platform and allows different organizations to easily collaborate and create more possibilities for exchanges. “Just a few days ago, I was looking for matches and found an unexpected exchange between pairs from Israel and other European countries. Hopefully, this will lead to new collaborations.”
“Itai’s software was used on both sides of that historic exchange between Abu Dhabi and Israel,” said Alvin Roth, Nobel Laureate and Ashlagi’s mentor and frequent collaborator, who was in Abu Dhabi in connection with the exchange.
"Roth says Ashlagi exemplifies the concept of scientist-engineer and is now a driving force in contemporary kidney exchange through both his deep understanding of the immunological issues of matching kidneys to patients and his intimate appreciation of the needs of transplant centers.
“He’s turned those practical theoretical insights into widely deployed digital tools with the power to change lives,” Roth added. “Having the chance to collaborate with him has been among the best experiences of my intellectual career.”
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment