Lahey Transplant - Kidney Recipient

8. Be Added to Kidney Waitlist

Once you’ve been listed for transplantation, you’ll be added to the United Network of Organ-Sharing (UNOS) waitlist. UNOS is the private, non-profit organization that manages the nation's organ transplant systems. You must be added to the waitlist even if you have a donor available as a precaution.

Your Position on the Waitlist

It is difficult to predict exactly when a kidney will become available, but the higher your ranking on the list, the sooner your probability is to receive a transplant. In general, there are four inportant factors in receiving a high ranking:

1. Time Spent on Waitlist

The waitlist is a numeric registry of patients. It works as a queue: people who have been waiting longer get first priority, while people who have just been added will have to wait to get to the front. If you've just recently been added to the waitlist, we recommend you ask a loved one to consider organ donation to help you avoid long wait times.

2. Blood Type

Kidneys are allocated by its blood type. Some blood types are more scarce than others. For example, recipients with blood type O or B may have to wait longer on the list than A or AB.

3. Status of Immune System

Due to your kidney condition, your immune system may get agitated and become ready to attack foreign bodies. If this occurs, a transplanted kidney runs a higher risk of being rejected, for which you’ll be given suppressant medications to calm your antibodies down, and your wait-list position will be "frozen" until your condition returns to normal. Otherwise, if your immune system is passive, your position on the list will remain untouched.

4. Geographic Location

Organs are allocated within the same region where it was obtained. Some regions have a larger organ supply than others. You may use this to your advantage and be listed at two transplant centers in different regions. Lahey Hospital is part of UNOS Region 1, which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Eastern Vermont.

Recipient's Responsibilities

Eligibility Requirements

UNOS has established guidelines that need to be followed in order to remain eligible for a kidney transplant. It is the recipient’s responsibility to abide to these guidelines:

Abstain from non-prescribed drugs and tobacco
Keep all scheduled appointments
Obey all the recommendations from the multidisciplinary transplant team
Obtain laboratory testing according to the schedule we will give you. These tests include monthly Panel Reactive Antibody (PRA) tests; a measure of how likely your immune system is to reject the transplanted organ. If your PRA levels are too high, you’ll be prescribed immunosuppressant medications to bring them back down. (See section above: 3. Status of Immune System).

Communication with Lahey

It is very important that you call us to inform us of any of the following situations:

Admission to another hospital
A visit to the Emergency Room
Diagnosis of an infection of any type
Any changes in contact information including address, phone numbers for you and/or your primary contact person
Any changes in your dialysis center
Any changes in your insurance coverage including prescription plans
Travel plans that would affect your ability to reach Lahey Hospital within two hours (in case a kidney becomes available for you)
Your inability to keep any scheduled appointments at the transplant center