After you begin the heart transplant process at UPMC, we will assign you a transplant coordinator. Your coordinator will guide you through each stage of your heart transplant journey. The transplant team supports you in all aspects of preparing for your new heart, including the financial, mental, social, and physical impact of transplant surgery.
Our team will perform a comprehensive heart transplant evaluation to ensure that a heart transplant is in your best interest and help you understand what to expect before, during, and after the procedure.
Your Heart Transplant Team
During your evaluation, you'll have diagnostic tests and meet with a number of experts from the heart transplant team, including:
- Behavioral health nurses or psychiatrists — Assist you and your family in coping with the stresses associated with chronic disease and the transplant process. They will also assess any current psychiatric/mental health symptoms that are being treated or may need to be treated.
- Cardiologists — Examine you, perform a medical history and physical, and focus on the signs and symptoms of your disease. They may also review other options for managing your heart condition.
- Credit analysts — Review your insurance coverage and benefits information. They will help you to understand your insurance policy and will be your point of contact for insurance changes. They will also explain any parts of the transplant process that insurance does not cover and suggest options to assist with those costs.
- Nutritionists — Assess your nutritional status, dietary knowledge, and provide education and recommendations for your diet.
- Pharmacists — Meet with you to get a complete list of all the medicines and supplements you take, both prescription and over the counter, and ask you how you take your medicines.
- Research transplant coordinators — Transplant nurses who coordinate and oversee patients who participate in research studies and clinical trials.
- Social workers — Discuss your support team at home, your prescription insurance coverage, and other social aspects of the transplant process. You will also learn about fundraising options.
- Transplant nurse coordinator — Introduces you to the transplant process and reviews your evaluation schedule. The visit will consist of a preliminary health screening, a review of medications, and an overview of the transplant process. Your transplant nurse coordinator is here to answer any questions you may have.
- Transplant surgeons — Evaluate your physical capability and risks for transplant. They will review your current disease management plan and all available treatment options to see if a transplant is the best option for you.
Your Heart Transplant Evaluation
After you receive insurance approval for your pre-heart transplant evaluation, you will work with your transplant coordinator to schedule your appointments.
What happens during a heart transplant evaluation?
During your heart transplant evaluation, you will meet with members of your transplant team and have a series of exams and tests. Your heart transplant evaluation will provide your transplant team with the information they need to decide if a heart transplant is in your best interest.
How long does a heart transplant evaluation take?
Your heart transplant evaluation involves a series of exams and tests, so it will take about a week to complete. During this time, you may want to stay in Pittsburgh. Family House offers affordable housing to people seeking treatment for serious illnesses.
Learn more about traveling to Pittsburgh for transplant services.
Does my care partner need to come to my heart transplant evaluation?
Your care partner will need to come with you to each appointment. The heart transplant exams and tests are physically demanding. It can be hard for someone with heart disease to get from one appointment, test, or location without help.
Your care partner must also meet with the transplant team and learn about their role before, during, and after your transplant.
Heart Transplant Evaluation Tests
During your heart transplant evaluation, you will have tests to check for signs of disease and see how well your heart, lungs, and other bodily systems are working.
Tests may include:
- Bilateral lower extremity Doppler and carotid Doppler — Checks for blood clots and narrowed or blocked arteries that supply blood to your legs and brain.
- Blood work — Checks for signs of infection or illness.
- Chest x-ray — Looks for signs of heart damage, lung disorders, or other health problems.
- Echocardiogram — Uses ultrasound waves to create detailed images of your heart.
- Electrocardiogram (EKG) — Measures your heartbeat and your heart's electrical activity (rhythm).
- Heart (cardiac) catheterization — Shows blockages, reduced blood flow, and other problems within your arteries.
- Exercise stress test — Shows how well your heart and lungs work during exercise.
- Pulmonary function tests — Measure how well your lungs work.
- Ultrasound of the abdomen/pelvis — Uses sound waves to create images of the organs and structures in your abdomen and pelvis to check for signs of disease.
What Happens After My Heart Transplant Evaluation?
The heart transplant selection team will review your exam and test results to decide if a transplant is right for you. When possible, your care team may recommend other heart failure treatment options before moving forward with a transplant.
Waiting for your new heart
If you are medically approved for heart transplant surgery, the financial team will work with your health insurance to get preauthorization for your procedure. After your heart transplant is approved by your insurance, we'll place you on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) heart transplant wait list.
Status levels on the heart transplant wait list range from status 1 to 2 (urgent need) to status 6 (stable on medicines at home). The need for steady IV medicines or a ventricular assist device (VAD) as a bridge to transplant would affect your status level. Your doctor will monitor your condition and update your status level on the list if needed.
Experts match donor organs to heart transplant patients of similar size and blood type.
As you wait for a heart, you'll need to follow the diet and lifestyle recommendations from your doctor. The heart transplant team is here for you throughout your entire transplant journey.
Why Choose UPMC for Heart Transplant Surgery?
When you choose UPMC for heart transplant surgery, you will have access to:
- Advanced VAD care — Our experts have pioneered VAD technology for more than 40 years. Our surgeons implanted the second Jarvik Artificial Heart as a bridge to transplant in 1985. Additionally, UPMC was the first medical center to discharge a patient with a VAD in 1990. Since then, we have implanted more than 1,300 VADs.
- Best-in-class outcomes — The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) reports UPMC as a national leader in 90-day survival rate. It is among the top nationally for survival rates at 30 days and one year post-transplant.
- Experienced, board-certified surgeons — With a rich history that includes more than 1,700 transplants over more than 40 years, UPMC heart transplant services are among the most experienced programs in the world.
- Multidisciplinary, groundbreaking care — For patients requiring multiple organ transplants, your heart transplant team collaborates with experts across UPMC to perform heart-lung, heart-liver, and heart-kidney transplants. UPMC performed the world’s first heart-liver transplant in 1984, and the world’s first heart-liver-kidney transplant in 1989. UPMC also performed the nation’s first beating heart transplant.
- Second-opinion services for high-risk cases — UPMC experts offer second-opinion services even for those who have been deemed high risk and were turned down for a transplant at another center.
- Bloodless heart transplants — We perform heart transplants for adult patients who need a transplant but cannot or choose not to receive blood components, including plasma, platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells. From transplant evaluation to post-transplant care, our team is here to support patients every step of the way.
By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2025-12-09.
