Abstract
Lloyd Shapley and Alvin E. Roth have recently been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for their work in matching theory. Although branching from the field of economics, matching theory has had many implications in the world of medicine. For example, the National Residency Matching Program in the United States is an application of matching theory. The focus of this article is the application of matching theory to kidney transplant allocation. Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for end stage renal failure. Unfortunately, the demand for kidneys exceeds supply. Kidney paired exchange programs, which have begun to garner great success in increasing the number of kidney transplants worldwide, base their foundations on matching theory. Overviewed in this paper will be how these programs were created and work, their successes, and some of the unique challenges and logistical obstacles they face.
Highlights
Markets function with monetary exchange facilitating the movement of goods to buyers from sellers
Pioneered by Lloyd Shapley in the 1950s and 1960s, it has been applied to real markets with great success
This article has provided an introduction to matching theory and the ways it has been applied in real markets, with special regard to kidney transplant allocation
Summary
Markets function with monetary exchange facilitating the movement of goods to buyers from sellers. Shapley’s theory is based on stable matching In their 1962 paper, Gale and Shapley demonstrated this idea with the stable marriage problem. The stable marriage problem asked how a number of women could be matched to a number of men, considering their respective preferences for each member of the opposite sex. They showed that no matter the preferences, there would always exist a stable allocation. The marriage problem may seem contrived, it has real world counterparts One such market is residency matching in the US. The allocation of residency positions was another stable marriage problem, with the hospitals proposing to the applicants. Their algorithm was adopted in 1997 and used ever since. 3
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
