After you begin the kidney transplant process at UPMC, we'll assign you a transplant coordinator. Your coordinator will guide you through each stage of your kidney transplant journey. The transplant team addresses all aspects of preparing for your new kidney, including the financial, mental, social, and physical impacts of transplant surgery.
Our team will perform a comprehensive kidney transplant evaluation to ensure that a kidney transplant is in your best interest and help you understand what to expect before, during, and after the procedure.
Your Kidney Transplant Team
During your evaluation, you'll have diagnostic tests and meet with a number of experts from the kidney 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.
- 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.
- Nephrologists (kidney specialists) — 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 condition.
- 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 — Will 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 include a preliminary health screening, a review of your medication, 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 Kidney Transplant Evaluation
After you receive insurance approval for your pre-kidney transplant evaluation, you will work with your transplant coordinator to schedule your appointments.
What happens during a pre-kidney transplant evaluation?
During your pre-kidney transplant evaluation, you will meet with members of your transplant team and have a series of exams and tests. Your pre-kidney transplant evaluation will provide your transplant team with information they need to decide if a kidney transplant is in your best interest.
How long does a pre-kidney transplant evaluation take?
Your pre-kidney transplant evaluation involves a series of exams and tests, so it will take three to five days to complete. If you're evaluation is in Pittsburgh, Family House offers affordable housing to people seeking treatment for serious illnesses.
Does my care partner need to come to my pre-kidney transplant evaluation?
Your care partner will need to come with you to each appointment. The kidney transplant exams and tests are physically demanding. It can be hard for someone with kidney 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.
Kidney Transplant Evaluation Tests
During your pre-kidney 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:
- Blood work — Checks for signs of infection or illness.
- Chest x-ray — Looks for signs of heart damage, lung disorders, or other health problems.
- 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.
- CT, MRI, or ultrasound scans of your abdomen/pelvis — Create images of organs, tissues, and structures inside your body to check for abnormalities.
- Electrocardiogram (EKG) — Measures your heartbeat and your heart's electrical activity (rhythm).
- Exercise stress test — Shows how well your heart and lungs work during exercise.
- Mammogram or Pap smear for women — Checks for signs of breast or cervical cancer.
- Urinalysis — Checks how well your kidneys are working.
What Happens After My Pre-Kidney Transplant Evaluation?
The kidney 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 kidney failure treatment options before moving forward with a transplant.
Waiting for your new kidney
If you are medically approved for kidney transplant surgery, the financial team will work with your health insurance to get preauthorization for your procedure. After your kidney transplant is approved by your insurance, we'll place you on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) deceased-donor kidney transplant wait list.
If you have someone who is willing to be your living kidney donor, our team will begin the living-donor kidney evaluation process to see if they can safely donate their kidney to you and if they are a match.
Your position on the kidney transplant waiting list
UNOS decides the criteria for organ allocation and ensures that all transplant hospitals in the United States meet their requirements.
Your kidney transplant team will assign you an estimated post-transplant survival (EPTS) score based on:
- How long you have been on dialysis.
- Whether you have diabetes.
- Whether you have had a previous organ transplant.
- Your age.
EPTS scores range from 0% to 100%. The lower your score, the higher your priority on the kidney transplant waiting list.
How long is the wait for a deceased-donor kidney?
Wait times for a deceased-donor kidney vary, but average between four to six years. You may be able to reduce or eliminate your wait time by finding a living kidney donor.
While on the deceased-donor kidney transplant wait list, you must:
- Be able to get to UPMC within 12 hours. This requirement ensures that you can get to the hospital in time when a donor kidney becomes available. Family House offers affordable housing for people coming to Pittsburgh for kidney transplant treatment. It is not a medical facility.
- Be accessible by phone 24 hours a day.
- Check in with your kidney transplant coordinator at a minimum of every two weeks to update us on your medical status.
- Have regular tests to recertify your EPTS score.
- Meet with the transplant surgical team every six months.
Learn more about traveling to Pittsburgh for transplant services.
Why Choose UPMC for Kidney Transplant Surgery?
When you choose UPMC for kidney transplant services, you will receive:
- Access to experienced, board-certified specialists — Since 1988, our surgeons have performed more than 5,400 deceased-donor kidney transplants and 2,600 living-donor kidney transplants.
- Expert care for complex cases — As one of the nation's most active and experienced transplant programs, we have vast experience in kidney and combined kidney-pancreas transplants that allows us to take on some of the most complex cases.
- Personalized kidney transplant care — From thorough evaluation to world-class treatment, we provide a patient-centered approach to care throughout the entire transplant process. Your dedicated transplant team will guide and support you each step of the way.
By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2025-12-09.
