Transplant Referral Process
Patients are referred to the Cardiothoracic Transplant Program from a variety of sources. Most patients are referred from their primary care physicians, although some patients refer themselves to the program by calling the Transplant Office directly.
- Who needs transplantation?
- Referral for care
- Evaluation
- After acceptance
- After discharge
- Support Organizations
For self-referrals, the patient/family is asked the name of the patient’s attending physician. The patient is also requested to call their primary physician to advise him/her of their contact with our program. The Transplant Coordinator then begins coordination and communication with the physician.
The physician is forwarded a letter and a packet. The packet contains patient selection criteria and request for laboratory results, medical history, and all necessary materials to complete the evaluation. Additionally, patient management issues are discussed with the physician to assist in determining whether the patient might be an appropriate candidate for evaluation.
Once information about the patient’s condition is obtained and reviewed, the patient may continue the evaluation process, or a decision may be made that the patient does not meet the selection criteria. In either case, the family and referring physician are contacted by phone and follow-up correspondence. They receive a careful explanation of the Transplant Team’s decision.
In some instances, patients may not meet selection criteria at this time, but may be eligible for consideration at a later date. In those cases recommendations may be made to the referring physician regarding the patient’s treatment plan.
