Trust the leader in living donor transplants
As the longest running kidney transplant program in the Washington D.C., area—more than 55 years and 6,000 transplants—the MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute has extensive experience with the full array of available transplant options. Patients with a chronic kidney disease and those on dialysis choose us for these reasons:
- In the top 10% highest volume centers in the country for kidney/pancreas transplants
- Only D.C. hospital that partners with the National Kidney Registry (NKR) for special donor protections, including lost wage reimbursement
- Second largest Paired Kidney Exchange (PKE) program in the NKR, matching live donor kidneys with the ideal recipient
- 289 kidney transplants in 2023 of which 75 were living donors
We can help you find a living donor and shorten your wait
The fastest way to receive a kidney transplant is a living donor kidney transplant. This may make it possible for you to stop dialysis sooner or even to avoid starting dialysis. We will discuss the options with you, including helping you find a living donor. We also offer protections to living donors not offered at other area hospitals, including:
- Lost wage, travel and lodging reimbursement
- Donation life insurance
- Donation disability insurance
- Financial protection for post-surgical issues
- Legal representation
- Prioritization for living donor transplant
- Meet with one of our transplant physicians who will answer your questions about the process. See our FAQs.
- Receive a physical examination.
- Receive a psychosocial evaluation with a transplant social worker to identify and address your support needs following transplant.
- Meet with our financial counselor to make sure you are fully covered for your post-transplant expenses.
- Undergo blood tests for tissue typing and antibody screening.
- Learn about the benefits of living donation and receive information for any interested donors you have.
- Attend consultations with various specialists to make sure transplant is a safe option.
For new patient appointments call
202-444-3700.
For return appointments and clinical questions please call your provider.
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Former NFL Player Gives the Gift of Life
A heartwarming display of true brotherly love. Josh Morgan, a retired NFL player, donates his kidney to save his brother Daniel's life. Click the video above to learn more.
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Living Kidney Donation
Laurel and Gary met through their love of rescuing German Shepherds. What Laurel didn't know was that Gary would rescue her too, by offering her the gift of life. Watch their story and learn more about this life saving possibility. Watch the video above to learn more.
Meet with us virtually or at any of our 3 locations throughout Washington, D.C., and Virginia.
The entire pre-transplant evaluation, including imaging and lab studies, can be accomplished at any of our convenient sites listed below.
Washington, DC: MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and MedStar Washington Hospital Center
Virginia: Fairfax
For new patient appointments call
202-444-3700.
For return appointments and clinical questions please call your provider.
Chronic Kidney Disease
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What is chronic kidney disease?
Your kidneys remove waste and excess fluid from your body. CKD is a word for the slow loss of your kidney’s ability to do that important job. -
How is CKD diagnosed?
A simple blood and urine test can determine if you have kidney disease. The urine test looks at your albumin-to-creatinine ratio and your blood is tested for creatinine, which is used to calculate your GFR (glomerular filtration rate). -
Who is at risk for CKD?
People with:
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Obesity
- Family history of CKD
- Smokers
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What are the symptoms of CKD?
People in the early stages of CKD may have few symptoms. As the disease progresses, symptoms can include:
- Itching
- Muscle cramps
- Nausea, vomiting, and not feeling hungry
- Swelling in your feed and ankles
- Feeling mentally foggy or less sharp
- Too much or not enough urine
- Trouble catching your breath
- Trouble sleeping
In the advanced stages of CKD, known as end stage kidney disease (ESKD), if your kidneys fail, you may experience symptoms including:
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Nosebleeds
- Back pain
- Fever
- Rashes
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How is CKD treated?
Treatment for CKD includes treating any underlying condition that’s damaging your kidneys, like diabetes or high blood pressure, and helping your kidneys remove waste and fluid from your body.
For people with ESKD whose kidney function is 20% or less, treatment options include dialysis and kidney transplantation. Dialysis removes waste and extra fluid from your blood mechanically when your kidneys can no longer do it on their own. Dialysis can be performed at a dialysis center or at home. Unfortunately, dialysis is a very disruptive and difficult way to live.
With kidney transplantation, a healthy kidney from a deceased or living donor is placed in your body and takes over the work of filtering waste and excess fluid. A living donor transplant offers many benefits including making your wait time much shorter, cutting it from years to months. -
Why choose transplant?
A transplant can help you get back to living a healthy, active life. It also can help you live longer than you would if you stayed on dialysis. Your transplant team will talk with you about the benefits and risks of transplant.
You don’t need a referral from your doctor to get evaluated for a kidney transplant. You just need to have chronic kidney disease and kidney function that’s close to or below 20%.
Don’t miss the chance for a transplant because you think you might not qualify. The transplant team’s job is to figure out whether a transplant is a good choice for you.
MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute provides expert care for end-stage kidney disease and complications of diabetes. And we perform far more living donor kidney transplants than any other program in the area.
Call us at 202-951-7775 or click below to find out if you have CKD or to schedule a transplant evaluation.
Transplant Recipients
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How does the wait list work?
Patients who do not have a living donor are placed on the waiting list for a cadaveric transplant. The allocation of organs on the waiting list is based on a point system. When a donor becomes available anywhere in the country, the blood type and tissue type of the donor is determined. That information is compared to the tissue typing of all patients waiting for a transplant with that blood type.
A computerized list is generated through The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) in Richmond, Virginia. This list shows if there are any perfect matches for this particular donor in the country. If so, patients who are a perfect match are given the most priority for that particular donor.
After the perfect matches are determined, then the rest of the patients with that blood type are listed according to how many points they have. The point system is based on several factors, including the match, how long the patient has been waiting, and the immune status of the patient. -
How long do the kidney transplants last?
With living donors, about 80% of transplanted kidneys will last at least 10 years. With non-living donors, about 60% of transplanted kidneys will last at least 10 years. -
How long am I in the hospital?
Three to five days for the recipient. -
When can I return to work/school?
Four to six weeks for the recipient. -
Why doesn't the surgeon place the transplanted kidney where one of my current kidneys is located?
The technique of kidney transplantation was perfected over 50 years ago. It was found that placing the kidney in the pelvis was more successful than placing it in the back. Furthermore, the native kidney(s) does not have to be removed, which simplifies the surgery. -
How long is the surgery?
Each surgery, one for the donor and one for the recipient, lasts approximately 3 - 5 hours. -
What does an average schedule and list of medications look like?
A typical schedule of post-transplant follow-up visits is as follows:
- Two visits in the week following your transplant
- One visit per week during the first month
- One visit every two weeks during the second month
- One visit per month during the next 3 - 6 months
- During this process, your nurse will keep your nephrologist informed of your progress. Eventually, as your kidney or kidney and pancreas become healthy, your nephrologist will resume the role of primary care giver.
Most patients must take multiple medications following the transplant. These medications are necessary to fight against organ rejection and bacterial and viral infections. The anti-rejection medications must be continued throughout the life of the kidney or kidney and pancreas. Other medications may include antibiotics, antivirals, antihypertensives, diuretics, vitamins, Iron, and antiulcers as needed.
Living Donors
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How long am I in the hospital?
One to three days for the donor. -
When can I return to work/school?
Two weeks for the donor. -
What is the long-term risk of being a donor?
There is very little risk to being a kidney donor, either short-term or long-term. Short-term, the risk of dying from the surgery is about 0.03% (3 in 10,000). Major complications are unusual. In the long-term, having been a donor does not influence the risk of kidney failure, high blood pressure or diabetes. Recent studies show that kidney donors have longer life expectancy than predicted. -
How long is the surgery?
Each surgery, one for the donor and one for the recipient, lasts approximately three-five hours.
Waitlist and Waiting
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How long will I have to wait for a new kidney?
Wait time for a donor organ is dependent upon several factors. These include your blood type, tissue matching, presence of preformed antibodies, and the time from which you began dialysis.
Expected patient waiting times will vary depending upon your geographical location within the United States as well as the local Organ Procurement Organization (OPO).
The following lists of websites can be used a source for information regarding the organ transplant wait list, waiting times, and organ donation.- unos.org
- optn.transplant.hrsa.gov
- transplantliving.org
Average wait times in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region are as follows:
- Blood Group A: 3 years (1095-1190 days)
- Blood Group B: 5-6 years (1838-2125 days)
- Blood Group O: 5 years (1778-1891 days)
- Blood Group AB: 2 years (578-866 days)
As of December 4, 2014, your wait time will be calculated from the day you started dialysis (not the date you completed your evaluation). For patients listed before they started dialysis, your time will still calculate from your date of listing.
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How often should I expect to be in touch with the transplant center?
We typically like to see patients once a year while on the waitlist so that we can keep updated on medical issues that might affect getting a transplant.
For patients with more significant medical history, we may see you as frequently as every 6 months.
While we may only be in touch with you every 6-12 months, you should always feel free to contact us at 202-808-0575. Your coordinator while on the waitlist is Arlette Jackson (at our Georgetown offices) or Eloida Gonzalez (at our Washington Hospital Center offices) and they will have all of your most current information. -
How often should I expect to be in touch with the transplant center?
We would like to hear about any and all significant changes to your medical condition
- Any time you have surgery
- Any time you require an overnight hospital stay
- Any abnormal screening tests ordered by your primary care provider
- When in doubt- call us! We would rather hear too much than too little
We want to know about any change in your contact information:
- Any time you move or change your phone number
- Any change in your dialysis center
- Any change in your nephrologist or primary care doctor
We want to know about any change in your insurance information:
- When you change insurance plans, we need to make sure that you still have coverage for all of the needed post-transplant medications.
If you are having elective surgery of any kind, you should let us know before the surgery happens.
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What testing is needed while I am on the waitlist?
- Monthly blood testing (1 red top tube)
- We need a sample of blood sent to our lab every month you are on the list. We use this blood to test you against the donor kidneys to make sure you are a match. If we do not have blood from you, we cannot test the kidneys, and you will not be offered a transplant.
- If you are on dialysis, your dialysis unit should be taking care of this. Be sure to check with your dialysis center that this is being done. If you are not yet on dialysis, you should receive the required supplies in the mail so that you can have the blood drawn locally.
- Annual testing for Hepatitis and other viruses
- We will do this for you at your annual visits to the transplant center
- Annual chest X-ray and electrocardiogram
- Repeat heart testing (a stress test and an echocardiogram) every 2 years
- You must keep current with standard screening tests including (as appropriate) pap-smears, mammograms, colonoscopy, and prostate specific antigen testing
- PSA tests should be updated yearly (men over 50)
- Mammograms should be updated every 1-2 years (women over 40)
- Pap smears should be updated every 2-3 years (all women)
- Colonoscopies should be updated every 5-10 years (all patients over 50)
- Monthly blood testing (1 red top tube)
Living Donor Kidneys
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Who can donate a kidney to me?
Donors can be anyone who is healthy enough to donate
- They do not have to be related to you
- They do not have to be of the same age, race, or sex as you
The kidney you receive must be of a compatible blood type
- Blood group A recipients can receive from Blood Group A or O (75% of all people)
- Blood group B recipients can receive from Blood Group B or O (50% of all people)
- Blood group O recipients can receive from Blood Group O (45% of all people)
- Blood group AB recipients can receive from all blood groups
You cannot have any antibodies against the kidney you receive.
- People can make antibodies against a kidney in the following ways:
- They have received blood transfusions
- They have been pregnant
- They have had a prior transplant.
- If any of these occur, you should let the transplant institute know so that we can re-test your antibody levels.
Even if you know you have a donor who is incompatible, they may still help you get a transplant through a paired kidney exchange.
Even if you looked for a potential living donor in the past it’s important to always think of new possibilities.
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What is 'Paired Kidney Exchange'?
Patients may have a living donor who is not able to donate directly to them because of a different blood group, or because of antibodies in the recipient’s blood. These donors can still donate their kidneys via Paired Kidney Exchange (PKE). In a PKE, your donor will donate their kidney to another patient on our list (with whom they are compatible) and you will receive a kidney from that person’s living donor.- Through PKE, you will always receive a living donor kidney
- The transplants are done virtually simultaneously (within a day of each other) so we will not ask you to offer a donor in the hope of some future transplant
- Because we must clear both sides of these exchanges, it can take several weeks or months to find an acceptable pair to match you and your donor.
- This will improve your chance of finding a matching pair
- Participation in the NKR or UNOS KPD program does not require either you or your donor to travel to any other center. Your surgery will still be done at MGTI.
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I know someone who is interested in donating, how do I start this process?
Potential donors must contact the transplant institute. Our donor liaison can be reached at 202-937-0279.
Donors will first be sent a questionnaire to see if they are healthy enough to donate.
If they pass the questionnaire, the next step is to do blood tests to see if they are a match.
If both of those steps pass, they will need to come to see us at the transplant institute to complete their evaluation.