Why do we have the kidney allocation system we have today? A history of the 2014 kidney allocation system

Abstract

"Those who do not know the past are destined to repeat it". The current system for the allocation of deceased donor kidneys that was implemented in December 2014 (termed the kidney allocation system (KAS)) was the culmination of a decade-long process. Thus, many people involved in transplantation today may not be aware of the underlying concepts and early debates that resulted in KAS. Others who were involved might not remember the details (or have chosen to forget). The goal of this manuscript is to outline the history of the process in order to shed light on why KAS has its current format.

Keywords: Deceased donor kidney; Deceased donor kidney allocation; Kidney transplantation; Kidney trasplant outcomes; OPTN; Organ allocation policy; UNOS.