Waiting for a New Heart
Patients waiting for a new heart are immediately placed on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waiting list. UNOS was established in 1986 as a contract from the Health Resources and Services Administration, a division of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.
UNOS manages the national transplant waiting list, matching donor organs to recipients 24 hours a day, 365 day a year. UNOS monitors every organ allocation to ensure compliance. The limited supply of organs is distributed justly and according to the condition of each patient on the list. You can learn more about UNOS at www.unos.org.
You may wait several weeks to several months for a heart that is the right size and blood type for you. While you are waiting for your new heart, we will see you in clinic on a regular schedule.
A transplant surgeon, physician and coordinator are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for transplant surgery and patient problems. All transplant candidates and patients are given contact information for non-emergency and emergency access to our team. If there is ever a change in our physicians, surgeons or coordinators, patients will be notified by mail along with information on our plans to cover patient care.