Creating a Discrete Event Simulation Model for the Allocation of Donor Hearts

Abstract

Heart transplantation surgery is a procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart disease and is sometimes life-saving. When a donor heart becomes available, end-stage heart disease patients on a waitlist are allocated through a match run that generates a priority list of patients who can receive the donor heart based on factors such as blood type, medical status, distance to donor, etc. Each patient’s doctor is then contacted according to priority, and a decision is made to either accept or reject the donor heart. Although simulations and machine learning models have been created to aid medical professionals in the matching process of other types of organ transplantation, their applications in heart transplantation remain to be explored. In this study, the framework of a discrete event computer simulation model is developed for the national heart transplant system. This simulation will handle the match run allocation, create a priority list, make a accept/reject decision, and output results. As a result, the final product will be a dependable foundation for future researchers to add more sophisticated decision-making and prediction modules.