Oxford-led team awarded significant grant to improve kidney transplant decision-making with AI

The programme will focus on five key areas:

1. Predictive models – development and validation

2. Regulatory approval – ensuring compliance and safety

3. Clinical evaluation – testing in real-world practice

4. Human factors – assessing usability and fairness

5. Health economics – analysing cost-effectiveness.

This large-scale collaboration brings together experts from the University of Oxford, University of Aberdeen, University of Nottingham, and Newcastle University.

Currently, around 6,000 people in the UK are waiting for a kidney transplant, with average waiting times of two to three years. Sadly, some patients become too unwell or die before a donor organ becomes available. Clinicians also face difficult decisions when considering offers from less-than-optimal donors, where the outcomes are uncertain. This variation in practice can lead to inequities in care.

To tackle this, the CET team has been developing AI-based models that combine donor, recipient, and organ information. These models not only predict likely outcomes but also explain the reasoning behind them—supporting clinicians in decision-making and helping patients better understand the risks and benefits during consent.

'Our goal is to create a web-based clinical decision aid that is fair, transparent, and effective,' said Associate Professor Knight, Director of the CET at Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences. 'By reducing disparities in how organs are accepted between centres, this research could improve organ utilisation and expand access to life-saving kidney transplants.'

Find out more about the project on the CET website.