Reducing geographic disparities in kidney transplant access with AI and operations research
Official title: Reducing Geographic Disparity in Access to Kidney Transplantation Using Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research
Funded at State University of New York at Buffalo · NIH-11433837 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Aiming to use AI and operations research to make kidney transplant access more fair across different regions in the U.S.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | State University of New York at Buffalo NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Amherst, United States) |
| Project start | August 20, 2026 |
| Project end | May 31, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $327,450 |
| NIH project number | 1R01DK149346-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11433837 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with chronic kidney disease in regions with historically long wait times for deceased donor kidney transplants.
✕Less likely to help
Patients in regions where wait times are already equitable or unaffected by policy changes may see minimal direct benefit.
What this research studies
This project seeks to understand why some areas have much longer wait times for deceased donor kidney transplants and how policy and center behavior affect these disparities. Researchers will apply advanced statistical methods and data analysis to explore factors like Allocation Out-of-Sequence and organ acceptance patterns over time. The goal is to identify policy and operational changes that reduce geographic gaps and improve system efficiency, with a focus on fairness for patients in need of transplantation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, it could lead to fairer access to kidney transplants across regions and reduce avoidable illness while waiting for a transplant.
How similar studies have gone: Previous policy changes reduced some disparities but also created uncertainties; this work seeks to clarify causal relationships and optimize allocation.
Where this research is happening
-
State University of New York at Buffalo
Amherst, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sankaran, Prashant — State University of New York at Buffalo
- Study coordinator: Sankaran, Prashant
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Strategies for HIV-to-HIV kidney transplants to increase organ donations
This project looks at making HIV-to-HIV kidney transplantation more common to help people with HIV get transplants faster by boosting organ donation and changing practice.
-
Biomarker-guided Immunosuppression in Kidney Transplant Patients
A multicenter study in kidney transplant recipients is testing whether a biomarker score from HLA-DR/DQ can guide changes in immunosuppression to reduce rejection risk and drug toxicity.
-
Helping the immune system accept a donated kidney in patients without prior sensitization
This project will try giving specially treated donor B cells alongside immune-sparing medicines to teach the immune systems of kidney transplant patients without prior antibodies to accept the new kidney.
-
Lowering donor-specific antibodies in sensitized kidney transplant patients
This project works to reduce harmful donor-specific antibodies in people who are sensitized and need a kidney transplant so their new organ lasts longer.
-
Centralized patient coaching to boost live donor kidney transplantation
A US-wide program trains patients, caregivers, and their networks with coaching to help them pursue living donor kidney transplantation.
-
Missed Pediatric Priority in Kidney Transplantation
This research aims to improve outcomes for children with kidney disease by focusing on when and how kidney transplantation can best help young patients.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.