If living donation is not available to the patient, and the transplant team decides that transplantation is the best option, then the next step after the evaluation is placement on the waiting list. The transplant coordinator contacts the Gift of Life Donor Program and United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), and arranges for the person’s name to be added to the list. The Gift of Life Donor Program is the non-profit organ procurement organization that serves the Philadelphia area.

There is no way of knowing how long someone will have to wait for a kidney. The patient’s health status affects the length of time they wait. Most importantly, the number of available organs directly affects the length of time a patient waits for an organ.

What is UNOS
UNOS is the non-profit organization that administers the nation’s organ transplant waiting list and distributes organs nationwide. UNOS’ computers match patients and organs according to objective criteria. For kidney transplants, patients are prioritized based on several factors including length of time on the waiting list, ABO blood type and degree of HLA matching.

What is the National Waiting List?
Every person listed for a non-living donor kidney transplant in the United States is required to be on the national list. This list is maintained by UNOS on a computer in Richmond, Virginia. When a kidney becomes available in an area, information is sent to the UNOS computer center by the Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) and a list of people for that kidney is generated. If the kidney is a perfect match with a person on the national list, it will automatically be offered to that person regardless of where they are located. If there isn’t a perfect match, then the OPO located in the region where the organ was procured is next in line to find a suitable candidate.