Can AI Help Optimise the Utilisation of Marginal Organs in Transplantation?

Decision-making around expanded-criteria organs is inherently complex and fraught with critical challenges. Clinicians often face the pressure of making quick, high-stakes decisions with limited information, balancing the urgent need for organs against potential risks to recipients.¹

Misjudgments can lead to either the rejection of viable organs or the acceptance of organs with poor function and high risks of failure, both of which have significant consequences for patients awaiting transplants.

In this presentation, Dr Georgios Kourounis and Dr Tobi Ayorinde discuss the OrQA² and PITHIA³ projects. The speakers highlight the benefits of integrating AI into clinical decision-making, as well as exploring the associated risks and ethical considerations with its application for marginal organ transplantation.

This video offers an opportunity for viewers to learn how AI tools can collaborate with clinicians to increase confidence in accepting or rejecting marginal organs, and ultimately optimise patient care.

References

1. NHS Blood and Transplant. Taking Organ Utilisation to 2020 https://bts.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/odt-organ-utilisation-strategy.pdf

2. Organ Quality Assessment. https://info.orqa.uk/

3. The Pre-Implantation Trail of Histopathology In renal transplant Allografts. https://pithia.co.uk/

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• Dr Georgios Kourounis

  General Surgery Registrar and Clinical Research Associate

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  Dr Georgios Kourounis

  General Surgery Registrar and Clinical Research Associate Newcastle University

  Role and Location
  General Surgery Registrar and Clinical Research Associate in Newcastle University.

  Education
  Georgios Kourounis graduated from St George’s, University of London in 2016, earning his medical degree with Distinctions. He also holds a BSc in Psychology, awarded with Distinction from York University, Canada and an MSc in Surgical Sciences, awarded with Distinction from the University of Edinburgh. He completed his foundation and core surgical training in the West Region of the Scottish Deanery, before starting his specialist registrar training years in Newcastle. He is currently completing a PhD in Newcastle University.

  Research
  His research focuses on the application of computer vision and artificial intelligence in organ assessment for transplantation.

• Dr Tobi Ayorinde

  NIHR Clinical Lecturer

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  Dr Tobi Ayorinde

  NIHR Clinical Lecturer UCL

  Role and Location
  NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Transplantation, UCL

  Education
  Tobi Ayorinde read medicine at the University of Cambridge, followed by clinical training at UCL. He returned to Cambridge as an Organ Retrieval Surgeon, where he began combining his clinical and academic interests through his work on the PITHIA trial and other projects.

  Research
  Dr Ayorinde’s doctoral thesis was aimed at advancing quality assessments of kidney transplants. His work has earned national awards and has led to over 20 publications in renowned medical journals. Tobi’s writings have explored AI applications in renal pathology, surgical assessments of deceased donor kidneys, and the effects of social media on organ donation.