AI being used to cherry-pick organs for transplant - AI News

A new method to assess the quality of organs for donation is set to revolutionise the transplant system – and it could help save lives and tens of millions of pounds. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is contributing more than £1 million in funding to develop the new technology, which is known as Organ Quality Assessment (OrQA). It works in the same way as Artificial Intelligence-based facial recognition to evaluate the quality of an organ. It is estimated the technology could result in up to 200 more patients receiving kidney transplants and 100 more receiving liver transplants a year in the UK. Colin Wilson, transplant surgeon at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and co-lead of the project, said: "Transplantation is the best treatment for patients with organ failure, but unfortunately some organs can't be used due to concerns they won't function properly once transplanted. "The software we have developed'scores' the quality of the organ and aims to support surgeons to assess if the organ is healthy enough to be transplanted.