New AI Tool Promises Major Boost to Organ Transplants as EU Faces Backlash Over Plans to Roll Back AI and Data-Protection Rules

New AI Tool Promises Major Boost to Organ Transplants as EU Faces Backlash Over Plans to Roll Back AI and Data-Protection Rules
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A breakthrough artificial intelligence system developed at Stanford University could cut failed organ-transplant attempts by up to 60 percent, even as Europe prepares to roll back parts of its own AI regulatory framework in a move critics warn may erode digital rights.

Researchers at Stanford have created a predictive AI model to assess whether donors in donation-after-circulatory-death (DCD) cases will die within the narrow window — typically 30–45 minutes after withdrawal of life support — in which organ recovery is viable, The Guardian reported.

Current practice sees nearly half of DCD liver procurement attempts aborted because death does not occur in time, wasting clinical resources and donor opportunities.

The new system, trained on data from more than 2,000 donors, analyzes neurological, circulatory, and respiratory parameters and consistently outperforms clinicians’ forecasts. It also remains accurate when donor data is incomplete.

Researchers report the tool could reduce wasted procurement preparations by around 60%, lowering costs, easing pressure on transplant teams, and expanding the number of viable organs. Adaptations for heart and lung transplants are planned.

Meanwhile, interest in AI-powered donor-recipient matching is rising in the Middle East, where the UAE is piloting a bias-free AI system designed to match organs to patients using only medical criteria.

As AI advances accelerate globally, the European Union is preparing to delay and scale back elements of its landmark AI Act and data-protection rules, citing the need to ease administrative burdens on European businesses competing with the US and China.

According to Arab News, the proposal includes: A one-year pause on certain AI Act obligations; Amendments to GDPR-linked rules seen as cumbersome for businesses; Removal of cookie-consent pop-ups; and procedural changes the Commission describes as “technical simplifications.”

Major European companies such as Airbus and Lufthansa support the delay, arguing that overly strict rules could hamper innovation and put Europe at a competitive disadvantage.

However, privacy advocates, digital-rights groups, and some EU lawmakers warn that the plan represents the largest rollback of EU digital protections to date, claiming it risks weakening user privacy and strengthening the dominance of US Big Tech.

The European Commission rejects those allegations, insisting the measures are not deregulation but streamlining. The proposals will require approval from both the European Parliament and the EU’s 27 member states, where significant divisions are expected.