The New England Program for Kidney Exchange (NEPKE), operating from the New England Organ Bank in Newton, MA, was formed to maximize the number of live donor kidney transplants that can be achieved in New England.

NEPKE is the result of teamwork between the kidney transplant centers of New England (link to centers), New England Organ Bank, LifeChoice Donor Services, and economists from the Harvard Business School, Boston College and University of Pittsburgh (who designed the computerized matching program). NEPKE makes it possible for patients with kidney failure who have a willing but incompatible live donor to "exchange" kidneys with another incompatible pair, so that both recipients are transplanted.

The Exchange Program works by entering incompatible participant pairs into a computer database. The database searches for possible donor-recipient pairings who may be compatible to maximize the number of transplants that can be achieved. You will be notified by your transplant surgeon if the Exchange Program identifies potentially compatible pairs that include you. A crossmatch test would then be performed. If the crossmatch test confirms that the proposed exchange results in compatible donor-recipient pairs, each donor and recipient together with their respective transplant teams (surgeon, nephrologist, etc.) must agree to allow the exchange to go forward. The donors would be further evaluated at the transplant center where the identified exchange recipient is listed. If all parties consent and the clinical evaluations are acceptable, the transplant procedures would occur simultaneously. Participants may remain in the program as long as they remain medically eligible and willing to participate.