KEPsoft Kidney Exchange Optimization Software Receives Prestigious Recognition
The KEPsoft software, developed with the contribution of researchers from Obuda University, has been awarded 3rd place in the EARTO (European Association of Research and Technology Organisations) Expected Impact Award. The software aims to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from kidney failure while also delivering significant cost savings for healthcare systems.
Obuda University joined the international consortium implementing EURO-KEP, a European Union–funded project under the EU4Health program. EURO-KEP is working to establish a pan-European living-donor kidney exchange network.
The four-member consortium, represented in Hungary by Obuda University and the Mechanism Design Research Group of the Eötvös Loránd University Centre for Economic and Regional Studies (ELTE KRTK), received the award for developing the KEPsoft software. The software is commercialized by KEPsoft Collaborative, a non-profit organization jointly established with the University of Glasgow and INESC TEC Porto.
Developed through close collaboration between Hungarian, Portuguese, and Scottish researchers, KEPsoft enables a higher quality of life for patients with kidney failure. To support the distribution, licensing, and wider application of this life-saving innovation, a non-profit company was founded.
The software facilitates optimal donor-recipient matching within kidney exchange programs by creating exchange cycles. It helps patients who cannot receive kidneys from their own living donors due to immunological incompatibility or other health-related factors (such as large age differences) find suitable matches.
The researchers’ goal is to provide better solutions for patients with kidney failure and address the acute shortage of living donors required for transplants, thereby offering patients a better chance of survival and improved quality of life.
Obuda University, which plays a key role in the development of cybermedical and medical technology systems, is also part of this collaboration.
“KEPsoft is an excellent example of effective, practice-oriented RDI collaboration centered around patients. The software provides real support for both patients and healthcare professionals. At the same time, it represents an internationally recognized solution that has also resulted in shared intellectual property with our partners. Obuda University aims to promote the growth of the KEPsoft community in Central Europe and worldwide,” highlighted Rita Fleiner, head of the university’s KEPsoft development team.
Using advanced algorithms, the software optimizes donor-recipient pairings on a national and international level every three months, increasing the number of successful transplants. The platform already plays a key role in the EURO-KEP project, launched in 2024 with EU4Health support, which aims to build a unified pan-European kidney exchange network.
The Mechanism Design Research Group, established with the support of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Momentum (Lendület) Program, has been instrumental in the software’s development. Led by Péter Biró, the group has been studying since 2016 how game theory and algorithmic methods can be applied to design fair, efficient, and transparent matching mechanisms—for example, in school choice, internship allocation, or organ donation.
The use of KEPsoft delivers tangible social impact: by increasing the number of transplants and reducing waiting times, it can save thousands of lives each year and reduce healthcare costs by tens of thousands of euros per patient through the replacement of dialysis.
The development of KEPsoft represents not only a breakthrough at the intersection of medicine and information technology but also a new model of European collaboration—a joint platform born from the synergy of research, healthcare practice, and technological innovation.
Obuda University participates in the project as an associated partner, with funding provided by Hungary’s National Research, Development and Innovation Fund – Innovation Subfund.
The four-member consortium, represented in Hungary by Obuda University and the Mechanism Design Research Group of the Eötvös Loránd University Centre for Economic and Regional Studies (ELTE KRTK), received the award for developing the KEPsoft software. The software is commercialized by KEPsoft Collaborative, a non-profit organization jointly established with the University of Glasgow and INESC TEC Porto.
Developed through close collaboration between Hungarian, Portuguese, and Scottish researchers, KEPsoft enables a higher quality of life for patients with kidney failure. To support the distribution, licensing, and wider application of this life-saving innovation, a non-profit company was founded.
The software facilitates optimal donor-recipient matching within kidney exchange programs by creating exchange cycles. It helps patients who cannot receive kidneys from their own living donors due to immunological incompatibility or other health-related factors (such as large age differences) find suitable matches.
The researchers’ goal is to provide better solutions for patients with kidney failure and address the acute shortage of living donors required for transplants, thereby offering patients a better chance of survival and improved quality of life.
Obuda University, which plays a key role in the development of cybermedical and medical technology systems, is also part of this collaboration.
“KEPsoft is an excellent example of effective, practice-oriented RDI collaboration centered around patients. The software provides real support for both patients and healthcare professionals. At the same time, it represents an internationally recognized solution that has also resulted in shared intellectual property with our partners. Obuda University aims to promote the growth of the KEPsoft community in Central Europe and worldwide,” highlighted Rita Fleiner, head of the university’s KEPsoft development team.
Using advanced algorithms, the software optimizes donor-recipient pairings on a national and international level every three months, increasing the number of successful transplants. The platform already plays a key role in the EURO-KEP project, launched in 2024 with EU4Health support, which aims to build a unified pan-European kidney exchange network.
The Mechanism Design Research Group, established with the support of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Momentum (Lendület) Program, has been instrumental in the software’s development. Led by Péter Biró, the group has been studying since 2016 how game theory and algorithmic methods can be applied to design fair, efficient, and transparent matching mechanisms—for example, in school choice, internship allocation, or organ donation.
The use of KEPsoft delivers tangible social impact: by increasing the number of transplants and reducing waiting times, it can save thousands of lives each year and reduce healthcare costs by tens of thousands of euros per patient through the replacement of dialysis.
The development of KEPsoft represents not only a breakthrough at the intersection of medicine and information technology but also a new model of European collaboration—a joint platform born from the synergy of research, healthcare practice, and technological innovation.
Obuda University participates in the project as an associated partner, with funding provided by Hungary’s National Research, Development and Innovation Fund – Innovation Subfund.
