Getting on the List

The National Waiting List

Here are the necessary steps to get on the national waiting list:

1. Your physician must give you a referral.
2. Contact a transplant hospital. Learn as much as possible about the 200+ transplant hospitals in the United States and choose one based on your needs, including insurance, location, finances and support group availability.
3. Schedule an appointment for an evaluation and find out if you are a good candidate for transplant.
4. During the evaluation, ask questions to learn as much as possible about that hospital and its transplant team.
5. If the hospital's transplant team determines that you are a good transplant candidate, they will add you to the national waiting list.

UNOS will not notify you when you have been added to the list. Your transplant hospital will notify you within 10 days to inform you about your date of listing. If you have questions about your status on the list, you should ask the team at your transplant hospital.

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Reference and Publication Information

The United Network for Organ Sharing is committed to providing accurate and reliable information for transplant patients. To learn more about our content authorship and review process, please read about our Editorial Board.

The content on this page was originally created on July 15, 2003 by the United Network for Organ Sharing and last modified on June 4, 2008.

This web site is intended solely for the purpose of electronically providing the public with general health-related information and convenient access to the data resources. UNOS is not affiliated with any one product nor does UNOS assume responsibility for any error, omissions or other discrepancies.