  We design a flexible algorithm that exploits deceased donor kidneys to
initiate chains of living donor kidney paired donations, combining deceased and
living donor allocation mechanisms to improve the quantity and quality of
kidney transplants. The advantages of this approach have been measured using
retrospective data on the pool of donor/recipient incompatible and desensitized
pairs at the Padua University Hospital, the largest center for living donor
kidney transplants in Italy. The experiments show a remarkable improvement on
the number of patients with incompatible donor who could be transplanted, a
decrease in the number of desensitization procedures, and an increase in the
number of UT patients (that is, patients unlikely to be transplanted for
immunological reasons) in the waiting list who could receive an organ.
