If your doctor recommends a kidney transplant, you'll be referred to a transplant center. You can choose a transplant center on your own or choose a center from your insurance company's list of preferred providers.
After you choose a transplant center, you'll be evaluated to see if you meet the center's eligibility criteria. The evaluation may take several days and includes:
- A complete physical exam.
- Imaging tests, such as X-ray, MRI or CT scans.
- Blood tests.
- Cancer screening.
- Psychological evaluation.
- Evaluation of social and financial support.
- Any other tests based on your health history.
After the testing is done, the transplant team will tell you if you're a candidate for transplant. If a compatible living donor isn't available, your name will be placed on a waiting list to receive a kidney from a deceased donor.
Everyone waiting for a deceased-donor organ is registered on a national waiting list. The waiting list is a computer system that stores information on people waiting for a kidney. When a deceased-donor kidney becomes available, information about that kidney is entered into the computer system to look for a match. The computer generates a potential match based on several factors. These include blood type, tissue type, how long the person has been on the waiting list, and distance between the donor hospital and transplant hospital.
The federal government monitors the system to make sure that everyone waiting for an organ has a similar chance. The agency that monitors the system is called the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).
Some people waiting for a deceased donor get a match within a few months. Others may wait several years. While on the list, you will have a checkup every so often to make sure that you are still a good candidate for a transplant.