At UPMC, we customize the pre-intestinal transplant process for each individual.
As soon as you start the intestinal transplant process, we'll assign you a transplant coordinator. Your coordinator will guide you through each stage of your intestinal transplant journey. The transplant team addresses all aspects of getting ready for your new intestine, including the financial, mental, social, and physical impacts of transplant surgery.
Our team will conduct a thorough evaluation for an intestinal transplant to determine if it’s the best option for you and to help you understand what to expect before, during, and after the procedure.
Your Intestinal Transplant Team
During your evaluation, you'll have diagnostic tests and meet with a number of experts from the intestinal transplant team, including:
- Behavioral health nurses or psychiatrists — Assist you and your care partner in coping with the stresses associated with chronic disease and the transplant process. They will also assess any current behavioral health symptoms that are being treated or may need to be treated.
- 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.
- Gastroenterologists — Examine you, perform a medical history and physical, and will focus on the signs and symptoms of your disease. They may also review other options for managing your condition.
- Nutritionists — Assess your nutritional status, dietary knowledge, and provide education and recommendations for your diet.
- Pain management specialists — Assess your pain symptoms, current care plan, and recommended care plan after transplant surgery.
- 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 — Introduce you to the transplant process and review 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 Intestinal Transplant Evaluation
After you receive insurance approval for your pre-intestinal transplant evaluation, you will work with your transplant coordinator to schedule your appointments.
What happens during an intestinal transplant evaluation?
During your intestinal transplant evaluation, you will meet with members of your transplant team and have a series of exams and tests. Your intestinal transplant evaluation will provide your transplant team with information they need to decide if an intestinal transplant is in your best interest.
How long does an intestinal transplant evaluation take?
Your intestinal 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 traveling to Pittsburgh for medical care.
Learn more about traveling to Pittsburgh for transplant services.
Does my care partner need to come to my intestinal transplant evaluation?
Your care partner will need to come with you to each appointment. The intestinal transplant exams and tests are physically demanding. It can be hard for someone with gastrointestinal 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.
Intestinal Transplant Evaluation Tests
During your intestinal transplant evaluation, you will have tests to check for signs of disease and see how well your intestine, heart, lungs, and other bodily systems are working.
Tests may include:
- CT scans of the head, chest, and abdomen — Create images of the bones, organs, structures, and tissues inside your body.
- Colonoscopy — Allows your doctor to examine the inside of your colon using a thin, flexible tube with a light and a camera called a colonoscope.
- Exercise stress test — Shows how well your heart and lungs work during exercise.
- Blood tests — Check for signs of infection or illness.
- Heart (cardiac) catheterization — Shows blockages, reduced blood flow, and other problems within your arteries.
- Pulmonary function testing — Measures how well your lungs work.
- Endoscopy — Allows your doctor to examine the inside of your esophagus and stomach using a thin, flexible tube with a light and a camera called an endoscope.
- Motility studies — Show how well food and liquids move through your gastrointestinal tract.
- X-rays of the upper GI tract and small bowel — Create images of your esophagus, stomach, and small bowel to check for abnormalities.
What Happens After My Intestinal Transplant Evaluation?
The intestinal transplant selection team will review your exam and test results to decide if a transplant is an appropriate treatment option for you. When possible, your care team may recommend other intestinal failure treatment options, such as intestinal rehabilitation, before moving forward with a transplant.
What happens if I’m not an intestinal transplant candidate?
In many cases, our team can treat intestinal health problems — and even help people eat solid food again — without the need for a transplant. We will always try all medical treatment options before advising intestinal transplantation.
Waiting for your new intestine
If you are medically approved for intestinal transplant surgery, the financial team will work with your health insurance to get preauthorization for your procedure. After your insurance approves your intestinal transplant, we'll place you on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) intestinal transplant wait list.
Because intestinal transplant is relatively uncommon, the wait list is short compared to some other organs. However, the criteria for donor organs are specific.
The time on the list varies depending on what type of intestinal transplant you need.
For people who also need a liver — such as those who require a multivisceral transplant — your model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score dictates your place on the waiting list. This score reflects the severity of your liver disease. The higher the score, the higher your priority on the wait list.
While you are on the intestinal transplant waiting list, our team will:
- Use the results from your weekly lab tests for total parenteral nutrition (TPN) to keep your status updated.
- Continue to manage your condition medically.
Why Choose UPMC for Intestinal Transplant Surgery?
When you choose UPMC for intestinal transplant surgery, you will have access to:
- Expertise — Our team has performed more than 670 combined adult and pediatric intestinal and multivisceral transplants since 1990, representing more than 14 percent of the world's total intestinal transplants.
- Innovation — UPMC has been at the forefront of intestinal transplant and rehabilitation since performing the first-ever liver-intestinal transplant.
- 24/7 support — Our on-call transplant coordinator and surgeon are available at all times.
- A multidisciplinary team — Includes surgeons, gastroenterologists, dietitians, and more.
- Veteran care — Dedicated services through VA partnership.
By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2025-12-09.
