National Kidney Registry

What National Kidney Registry does

The National Kidney Registry (NKR), operated by Best Match Corporation, is the world's largest paired kidney exchange organization, facilitating living kidney donation and transplantation across a network of 102 member transplant centers spanning 35 states and the District of Columbia. As of 2026, NKR has facilitated over 12,000 transplants through its platform that matches incompatible donor-recipient pairs with other pairs to enable compatible kidney exchanges and chains. The organization serves three constituencies: kidney failure patients (with over 90,000 on the US waiting list), living kidney donors, and transplant centers that join the network as members.

NKR's core offering is a paired kidney exchange matching platform combined with a portfolio of specialized programs. Key proprietary components include Kidney for Life (advanced donor-recipient matching), Donor Shield (comprehensive donor protections covering lost wages, travel assistance, and complications), the Voucher Program (allowing donors to donate now with vouchers redeemable later by designated recipients), the DASH Solution (chain management workflow tool for member centers), patient-facing microsites like Find A Kidney and Choose Donation, and StrongBox® (a trademarked medical-grade ice-based kidney transport container deployed across all member centers with a reuse/sanitation program). The technology is described as algorithmic matching rather than AI-native, and the platform integrates with member center transplant workflows.

NKR operates on a B2B membership revenue model, generating revenue through fees from its 102+ member transplant centers who access the platform, Donor Shield protections, and matching services. The go-to-market involves recruiting transplant centers to join the network, with patients accessing services through center referrals or self-registration at register.nkr.org and the Find A Kidney microsite. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The organization is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, institutional investors, or parent company, and operates as independent infrastructure for the US living kidney donation ecosystem.

Name

National Kidney Registry

Legal name

Best Match Corporation

Website

https://kidneyregistry.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The National Kidney Registry operates the world's largest paired kidney exchange network, connecting 102 transplant centers across 35 states to facilitate living kidney donation through advanced matching algorithms, donor protection programs, and organ transport technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organ Transplant Registry / Paired Kidney Exchange Services

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Blood, Organ & Tissue Donation Organizations (BPAGACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Transplant Specialty Hospitals (HLAFAHAE)

Keywords

• Paired kidney exchange
• Living kidney donation
• Organ transplant matching
• Donor protection services
• Kidney transplant registry

Headquarters

HQ city

Babylon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Member Center Membership/Fees: NKR generates revenue through membership fees from its 100+ transplant center members across the United States. Transplant centers pay to participate in the NKR network, gaining access to the paired exchange platform, Donor Shield protections, and the broader donor-recipient matching ecosystem.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The National Kidney Registry operates a paired kidney exchange matching platform that connects incompatible donor-recipient pairs across a network of 102 member transplant centers in 35 states and DC, enabling living kidney donation chains and exchanges. It bundles the matching platform with donor protections (Donor Shield), patient-facing microsites (Find A Kidney, Choose Donation), advanced crossmatching (Kidney for Life), the Voucher Program for deferred donation, and the StrongBox® organ transport container.

Product overview

National Kidney Registry operates as a platform-plus-network model centered around its core NKR Platform, which facilitates living kidney donation and transplantation as the world's largest paired exchange organization. The offering includes patient-facing tools (Find A Kidney microsites, Kidney for Life matching), donor support services (Donor Shield protections, Choose Donation resources, Donor Care Network), and specialized programs (Voucher Program, Paired Kidney Exchange, Remote Donation). The product portfolio also includes physical products like the StrongBox® kidney transport container and operational tools such as the DASH Solution for member centers. All offerings are interconnected through 102 member centers spanning 35 states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Donor Shield: Assistance, support and protections for living donors
• Choose Donation
• Find A Kidney
• Kidney for Life
• Donor Care Network
• StrongBox
• Donor Games

Products and services

• NKR Paired Kidney Exchange Platform The core matching platform that connects incompatible donor-recipient pairs across member transplant centers, enabling living kidney donation chains and exchanges. Used by 102 member transplant centers in 35 states + DC and has facilitated 12,000+ transplants.
• Donor Shield

Quantifiable outcome

• 12,000+ NKR-facilitated transplants completed
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Donate Life AmericaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Partnership formed in November 2025 integrating Donate Life America's National Donate Life Registry with NKR's paired exchange platform. The Donate Life Living Donor Pathway enables living kidney donations through a supported pathway. The first living kidney donation through this partnership was completed at Hartford Hospital Transplant Center, serving as a proof of concept demonstrating that providing clear, supported pathways leads directly to lifesaving outcomes.
• Hartford Hospital Transplant CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst living kidney donation through the NKR and Donate Life America partnership took place at Hartford Hospital Transplant Center, marking a milestone proof of concept for the Donate Life Living Donor Pathway.
• Donor Care NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of transplant centers that meet rigorous standards for donor care, part of the broader NKR ecosystem providing quality-assured living donor transplantation services.
• Donor ShieldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerComprehensive donor protection program providing assistance, support and protections for living kidney donors, including lost wages, travel assistance, and complication coverage.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Donor Network West: Donor Network West is a federally designated organ procurement organization serving Northern California and Nevada. It is comparable to NKR as a transplant ecosystem participant coordinating donor-recipient logistics, though it is regional and deceased-donor oriented.
• Gift of Life Donor Program: Gift of Life is one of the largest US organ procurement organizations, coordinating deceased and living donation across a multi-state region. It is comparable to NKR as a transplantation coordination entity, though it focuses primarily on deceased-donor procurement within a defined territory.
• LifeSource (Upper Midwest OPO): LifeSource is a regional organ procurement organization serving the Upper Midwest. It is comparable to NKR as a transplant coordination entity in the broader ecosystem but focuses on deceased-donor procurement within its DSA rather than national living-donor exchange.

Others

• U.S. Renal Care: U.S. Renal Care is a major US dialysis provider serving the same end-stage renal disease patient population that NKR's transplant platform targets. It is thematically comparable as a kidney-care infrastructure company, though its core business is dialysis rather than transplantation or matching.
• American Kidney Fund: AKF provides financial assistance, education, and advocacy for kidney patients, including transplant-related support. It is adjacent to NKR as a kidney-focused nonprofit influencing the same patient population, though it is not a registry or matching platform.
• National Kidney Foundation: NKF is the largest US kidney disease advocacy and patient-support nonprofit, focused on awareness, prevention, and patient services. It is comparable to NKR as an adjacent kidney-mission organization that influences the same patient/donor community, though it does not perform matching or transplantation services.
• Cleveland Clinic Transplant Center: Cleveland Clinic operates one of the largest US transplant programs, including living donor kidney transplantation, and is an NKR member center. It is comparable as a downstream consumer of NKR's matching platform and as a broad incumbent in transplant delivery.

Broad incumbents

• United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS): UNOS is the federally designated contractor that manages the US organ transplant system, including deceased donor allocation. It is a broad incumbent operating the larger ecosystem in which NKR runs its paired living-donor exchange — comparable because both are national matching/allocation infrastructure for transplantation.

Direct peers

• Donate Life America: Donate Life America operates the National Donate Life Registry, the country's largest donor registration database. It is now a strategic partner of NKR but is structurally comparable as a national donor registry and the upstream funnel that feeds living-donor exchanges.
• Alliance for Paired Donation: APD is one of the original US kidney paired donation programs, operating a similar incompatible-pair matching model. It is the closest direct competitor to NKR's core paired-exchange business, though materially smaller in member-center footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCBZBdP9_JUWcOq-GYqzmHlQ
• Xx.com/kidneyregistry
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-kidney-registry

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 National Kidney Registry