If you are a candidate for a kidney transplant and do not have a living donor, you will be added to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) kidney transplant waiting list. This milestone marks the next phase of your journey, during which you will wait for your new kidney.
While you wait for your new kidney:
To be placed on the UNOS kidney transplant waiting list, you first need to receive a referral from your physician and select the hospital where you would like to receive your transplant. You can also refer yourself by reaching out to a member of our kidney transplant team.
Multiple listing occurs when a kidney transplant candidate registers at two or more transplant hospitals. UPMC accepts patients who are multiple-listed.
Within the UPMC network, kidney transplant candidates may choose to list at UPMC Montefiore, UPMC Hamot, and UPMC Harrisburg.
When you choose to multiple-list at two or more hospitals, you will be included in larger and different pools of deceased donor organs. As a result, being listed at multiple hospitals may increase your chances of receiving an offer of a compatible kidney and/or shorten your wait time.
Not every hospital accepts multiple-listed transplant candidates. Some hospitals have specific criteria that multiple-listed candidates need to meet.
Before multiple-listing, check with your health insurance company to make sure they will cover the costs of more than one kidney transplant evaluation.
You should also consider other costs not covered by insurance, such as travel and lodging expenses for your evaluation, procedure, and follow-up care.
After a referral is submitted, a member of the transplant team, known as an intake coordinator, will contact you to discuss the next steps. Next steps will include scheduling a time for you to come to the hospital or evaluation clinic for evaluation.
Your intake coordinator will ask you for basic information, including your health insurance policy number. Your intake coordinator will contact your health insurance company to verify that your transplant evaluation and procedure will be covered.
They may also send a detailed questionnaire for you to complete and bring with you to your evaluation.
During your evaluation visit, you will meet with your transplant team. Your team will tell you about the transplant process, answer your questions, and assess your health, psychosocial, and financial needs. Your evaluation will include:
Compatibility test results will be used to find the best possible kidney match for you. Types of compatibility testing include:
After your evaluation is complete, the members of the transplant team will discuss your case and decide if a kidney transplant is in your best interest. After the transplant team decides that a kidney transplant is the best option, you will be added to the national transplant waiting list.
You may be disqualified from being on the kidney transplant waiting list if you have:
Kidney availability is difficult to predict, so wait times for a kidney transplant vary.
Factors that may affect your wait time include:
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:
EPTS scores range from 0% to 100%. The lower your score, the higher your priority on the kidney transplant waiting list.
The transplant window for kidneys is about 12 hours, so even people living across the country are likely able to get to UPMC in time. Please inform your kidney transplant coordinator of any travel that will take you outside the 12-hour window.
If you must travel, we may place you in an "inactive status" on the kidney transplant waiting list.
Other reasons we may place you on the inactive list include:
Inactive status will not affect the total amount of time that you have been on the active waiting list.
If you would like to eliminate the wait time for a kidney transplant, you may want to consider living donation.
Kidney transplant candidates who do not have high-priority EPTS scores can wait for years to receive a kidney due to shortages of deceased-donor organs. If you know someone willing to donate a kidney, the UPMC kidney transplant team will evaluate them as a suitable donor for you.
If this person does not happen to be a match for you, you may opt to participate in the National Kidney Registry's exchange program.
In this "swap" program, your willing donor who isn't a match for you can donate their kidney to another person on the waiting list.
The person who receives your living donor's kidney will also have a willing donor who will then donate their kidney to another person participating in the exchange program.
Here are a few things you need to know while you wait for your donor kidney:
For kidney transplants, staying close to your transplant center while on the waiting list isn't as crucial as with other organ transplants. The transplant window for kidneys is about 12 hours, which means you have 12 hours to get to UPMC starting at the time you are notified that a kidney is available.
If you do live a great distance from UPMC, or even overseas, you may consider relocating closer to your transplant center as your priority score on the kidney transplant waiting list becomes more critical.
Family House provides a budget-friendly "home away from home" for kidney transplant patients and their loved ones in Pittsburgh. It is not a medical facility.
Learn more about traveling to Pittsburgh for transplant services.
Maintaining your health as much as possible is vital during the waiting phase.
While you wait for a donor kidney, the UPMC kidney transplant team will:
Most people can see their primary nephrologist for follow-up care close to home. Your kidney doctor will remain in contact with the transplant team at UPMC to provide updates on your health.
When a kidney becomes available, your transplant coordinator will call you right away.
Before you arrive at the hospital, a member of UPMC's kidney transplant team will evaluate the donor organ.
If it's a match, we'll prepare you for surgery as soon as you arrive at the transplant unit. If the team finds that the organ isn't right for you, we will send you home.
After your kidney transplant, you will spend a few days in the transplant intensive care unit before moving to a patient room.
When we discharge you from the hospital, you'll need to stay near your transplant center for a period of time to receive:
After you're strong enough to go home, you will need to come back to UPMC for check-ups.
The kidney transplant team will remain in contact with you, even after you've returned to your daily routine. We're here for you if you have any side effects, issues, or questions after your transplant.
We provide ongoing mental health support for people who have had a kidney transplant, including access to counseling and support groups.
When you choose UPMC for kidney transplant care, you will receive:
By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2025-12-09.
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