Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation

What Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation does

APKD is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2006 and headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio, that operates a kidney paired donation registry and matching platform. The organization addresses the problem that approximately one-third of willing living kidney donors are incompatible with their intended recipient by matching incompatible donor-recipient pairs through 2, 3, 4-way exchanges and non-simultaneous extended altruistic donor chains. Since 2007, APKD has facilitated over 15,000 kidney donations, performed the world's first non-simultaneous extended altruistic donor chain, and executed the first international kidney exchange chains involving Israel-UAE and US-Italy pairings.

The organization's core technology is KidneyMatchGrid, a proprietary matching platform powered by a Nobel Prize-winning algorithm developed by Dr. Alvin Roth (2012 Nobel Prize in Economics). The software performs daily match runs and processes 80+ data points per donor and 90+ per recipient to optimize pairings. Supporting offerings include DonorProtect, a financial support program covering donor lost wages (up to $10,000), travel (up to $4,500), dependent and pet care; MediGO-powered real-time GPS tracking of kidney transport; and Wish Upon a Donor, an advocacy program launched in 2025 to help pediatric patients find living donors through video storytelling.

APKD's go-to-market is a free enterprise model. The organization does not charge transplant centers, donors, or recipients; its 17-person team recruits transplant centers through direct outreach, webinars, and industry conferences, with a current network of 55+ U.S. transplant centers. International expansion is pursued via strategic partnerships with SEHA (UAE), Italy's Centro Nazionali Trapianti, and the Israel Center for Transplantation, and the organization has appointed dedicated leadership for India. All operating revenue is sourced from charitable donations to the 501c3 entity, with a Board chaired by Mark D. Mills and CEO Dr. Michael A. Rees (co-founder).

Name

Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation

Legal name

Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation, Inc.

Website

https://paireddonation.org/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

APKD is a 501c3 non-profit that operates a kidney paired donation registry powered by a Nobel Prize-winning algorithm, matching incompatible donor-recipient pairs through 55+ partner transplant centers in the U.S. and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Transplant Matching Software

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Blood, Organ & Tissue Donation Organizations (BPAGACAJ)

Keywords

• Kidney paired donation
• Living donor matching
• Transplant coordination software
• Donor support services
• Kidney exchange registry

Headquarters

HQ city

Perrysburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501c3 non-profit organization, APKD is funded through charitable donations from individuals, organizations, and potentially foundations. The website includes a 'Donate Today' page for financial contributions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

APKD operates a kidney paired donation registry and matching platform powered by a Nobel Prize-winning algorithm developed by Dr. Alvin Roth. The KidneyMatchGrid software performs daily match runs to pair incompatible donor-recipient combinations across 2, 3, 4-way exchanges and chains of 10+ pairs, collecting 80+ data points for donors and 90+ for recipients. Complementing the matching platform is the DonorProtect program, which provides comprehensive financial support to living donors including lost wage reimbursement, travel expenses, dependent and pet care, plus KidneyPromise and KidneyPledge future protection benefits.

Product overview

Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation operates as a kidney paired donation registry and matching platform. The core product is KidneyMatchGrid, a proprietary software platform powered by a Nobel prize-winning algorithm that matches incompatible donor-recipient pairs for kidney transplants through 2, 3, 4-way exchanges and extended donor chains. Supporting the matching platform is DonorProtect, a comprehensive donor support program covering financial protections including lost wages, travel, and insurance. The Wish Upon a Donor advocacy program helps pediatric and adult patients create video stories to find living donors. These products work together to facilitate the kidney donation process from matching through donor support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wish Upon a Donor: Hope-focused advocacy program helping kids who need kidneys find living donors through video storytelling.
• DonorProtect
• KidneyMatchGrid

Products and services

• KidneyMatchGrid Software Platform Proprietary paired kidney donation software platform powered by a Nobel Prize-winning algorithm that matches incompatible donor-recipient pairs for kidney transplants. Performs daily match runs and supports 2, 3, 4-way exchanges as well as non-simultaneous extended altruistic donor chains, processing 80+ data points for donors and 90+ for recipients. Provided free of charge to transplant centers.
• DonorProtect Program Comprehensive living donor protection program providing financial support to kidney donors including lost wage reimbursement (up to $10,000), travel expense reimbursement (up to $4,500), dependent care (up to $1,000), pet care (up to $500), and insurance coverage for complications. Includes KidneyPromise for future kidney priority for donors and KidneyPledge for donor's family members and friends.
• Wish Upon a Donor Program Advocacy program that helps pediatric and adult patients waiting for kidney transplants find living donors through personalized video storytelling. The free program creates unique videos featuring patients' stories that can be shared on social media to connect with potential donors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,000+ kidney donations facilitated to date
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Walter Reed National Military Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 November 2023Walter Reed participates in the DoD Military Share Program championed by APKD. The program allows deceased donor kidneys from military families to be transplanted into VA patients or utilized in kidney chains. APKD CEO Dr. Michael Rees attended the Walter Reed Transplant Summit to share insights on paired kidney donation.
• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2023Partnership between DoD and VA enhancing patient options through DHA facilities and expediting organ pairing processes. VA Capitol Health Care Network liaison works with DoD program managers on organ transplant coordination.
• Centro Nazionali Trapianti (CNT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2022Pilot kidney exchange transplant program between U.S. and Italy, the first-ever exchange of living donor kidneys between Europe and the United States. The agreement allows incompatible American and Italian donor-recipient pairs to exchange with each other using a shared algorithm.
• SEHA (Abu Dhabi Health Services Company)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 October 2021MoU signed between SEHA (UAE's largest healthcare network) and APKD to build a paired kidney donation program in the UAE, following their collective success in facilitating paired kidney donations including the historic Israel-UAE transplants.
• Israel Center for TransplantationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 October 2021Collaboration facilitating historic kidney transplants between Israel and UAE. APKD, the Israel Center for Transplantation, and the UAE Organ Donation and Transplant Committee coordinated a 3-way 'pay-it-forward' exchange involving 6 surgeries at 3 hospitals.
• MediGO Inc.flagshipTechnology or Integration · 22 July 2021First-in-nation collaboration for real-time tracking of donated kidneys during transport. MediGO provides next-generation hardware and software platform enabling GPS tracking of kidneys via website interface, preventing delays and lost/damaged organs. First use of the technology prevented a transplant delay by alerting coordinators to an issue at an airport.
• MedSleuthcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to build on APKD's matching programs and MedSleuth's Kidney Matchgrid™ software. The combined network doubles the pool of kidney donors, streamlines kidney paired donation service, increases matches, and ultimately saves more lives. APKD owns and operates Kidney Matchgrid globally while MedSleuth operates it in the U.S. partnership.

Scale indicators8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Kidney Registry: National Kidney Registry is the largest U.S. kidney paired donation program, operating a matching network and donor-protections framework for transplant centers. Directly comparable to APKD in target customer (transplant centers), product category (paired exchange matching), and patient mission.
• MedSleuth: MedSleuth develops and operates the Kidney Matchgrid™ software platform and holds the U.S. partnership operating rights alongside APKD, which owns global rights. It is a direct technology peer in paired-donation matching and a formal co-development partner of APKD.
• New England Program for Kidney Exchange: NEPKE is one of the earliest U.S. kidney paired donation programs, operating matching for transplant centers in the Northeast. It is a direct peer competing for transplant-center participation and donor-pair volume.
• Stanford Kidney Paired Donation Program: Stanford operates one of the early academic kidney paired donation programs in the U.S. and has published foundational KPD research. It is a direct peer in paired-exchange matching with overlapping transplant-center relationships.

Broad incumbents

• United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS): UNOS operates the U.S. national organ transplant system under federal contract, including deceased-donor allocation. It is a broader incumbent in the transplant ecosystem and serves the same transplant-center customers that APKD targets for paired-donation workflows.
• DaVita Kidney Care: DaVita is a leading U.S. kidney care provider operating dialysis centers and integrated kidney care services. It is a broad incumbent in the kidney-care ecosystem, overlapping with APKD's end-patient population but not competing directly in paired-donation matching software.
• Fresenius Medical Care: Fresenius Medical Care operates the world's largest network of dialysis clinics and is a broad incumbent in kidney care. It serves the same patient population APKD ultimately helps — end-stage renal disease patients — but does not directly compete in paired-donation matching.

Regional players

• Donor Network West: Donor Network West is a federally designated organ procurement organization serving Northern California and Nevada, coordinating deceased-donor and living-donor recovery in its region. It overlaps with APKD's transplant-center and donor ecosystem but on a regional rather than national paired-exchange basis.
• Midwest Transplant Network: Midwest Transplant Network is an organ procurement organization serving Kansas and western Missouri. It is a regional player in the transplant ecosystem, comparable in donor/recipient coordination role but on a smaller geographic footprint than APKD's national network.
• LiveOnNY: LiveOnNY is the federally designated organ procurement organization for the greater New York metropolitan area. It overlaps with APKD's transplant-center and donor ecosystem and is a regional peer in living- and deceased-donor coordination.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/paireddonation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCPo6ftfYwT_yA1nqz1IYuog
• Facebookfacebook.com/paireddonation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alliance-for-paired-kidney-donation
• Instagraminstagram.com/kidneypaireddonation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation