Waiting for a donation and evaluation

Waiting for a kidney 

Waiting times for kidney transplantation vary widely. The typical living-donor transplant can take place quickly. Surgery can be scheduled more or less at the donor’s convenience – often only a few weeks or months after initial evaluation. However, the wait for a deceased donor kidney can be as long as 8 to 10 years, depending upon the recipient’s blood type. The list of patients in New England who are in needs of kidney transplants is long and growing.

Evaluation process 

Patients are encouraged to undergo as many baseline tests as possible close to home and deliver the results to Tufts Medical Center prior to evaluation. Patients spend 1 day being evaluated at the Medical Center, where they visit with the members of the transplant team: a transplant nephrologist, a transplant surgeon, a transplant coordinator, a transplant pharmacist, a transplant social worker, a transplant dietitian + a transplant financial coordinator.