The 2023 Organ Donation and Transplantation Statistics Yearbook, published by the National Institute of Organ and Blood Management, reports that 1,257 kidneys were donated by living individuals in that year. Living kidney donations are predominantly made by the recipient’s spouse, and when including parents and children, 95% of such donations occur within the family.
A research team led by Professors Hyeryeon Jang and Junseok Jeon of the Department of Nephrology at Samsung Medical Center, along with Professor Wonchul Cha of the Department of Emergency Medicine, has developed an algorithm to predict renal function after kidney donation and recently filed a domestic patent application. The kidney function prediction algorithm is an artificial intelligence model that estimates how well a donor's remaining single kidney will adapt after donation. It uses basic information such as age, sex, height, and body mass index, along with crucial pre-donation test results, including glomerular filtration rate, serum creatinine levels, and CT scan findings.
Notably, the algorithm offers the advantage of instantly predicting the post-donation glomerular filtration rate by simply entering test results into a web-based questionnaire, eliminating the need for a dedicated app or external device. According to the research team, “With recent rapid advancements in AI models, their integration into medical practice is becoming increasingly profound.” They added, “As medical professionals, we are committed to finding more effective ways to deliver accurate information about kidney donation and to alleviate unnecessary concerns among donors.”