Kidney transplant waiting list and staying ready

If the results of your kidney transplant evaluation determine that a transplant is a good option for you, we place you on the waiting list maintained by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).

Our team of experts behind Penn Medicine Kidney Transplant has decades of experience supporting patients and families during the transplant waiting period. We understand how this time can be challenging, and we’re here with expert care and support.

How do you get on the kidney transplant waiting list?

To place you on the kidney transplant waiting list, we submit your information to the UNOS. UNOS partners with the federal government to maintain a database for all transplant candidates in the United States.

UNOS allows transplant candidates to be listed at different transplant centers at the same time. This is called “multiple listing,” and it enables you to be matched with donor kidneys in different regions, which can shorten your wait time.

How long is the waitlist for a kidney transplant?

There’s no way to know for sure how long it’ll take to match you with a kidney, but patients at Penn Medicine generally wait between two and six years. Living kidney donation, where you receive a kidney from a living donor, can substantially shorten your wait.

Factors that affect how long you wait include:

• Blood type: You and your kidney donor must have the same blood type. If you have a common blood type, there will be more compatible kidneys available for you, which will likely shorten your wait time. If you have a rare blood type, you may have to wait longer for a match.
• How long you’ve been on dialysis: The time you’ve been on dialysis is one factor that determines your position on the waiting list. The longer you’ve been on dialysis, the higher your position and the shorter your wait time on the list.
• Distance to transplant center: A donor kidney must reach the recipient quickly, so the distance between your transplant center and the donor’s hospital is an important factor in kidney availability.

Broadening your reach for a kidney donor match

While on the waiting list for a kidney, candidates are encouraged to create "microsites"—personal online platforms that allow patients to share their stories digitally, increasing exposure and potentially speeding up living donor matches. At the Penn Transplant Institute, we are dedicated to helping patients receive life-saving transplants sooner. View our Living Donor Microsites YouTube playlist for inspirational and educational materials about this initiative.