How much does a kidney transplant cost?

@jessica110 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.

Are you seeking a kidney transplant for yourself or someone close to you? Most insurances will cover the cost of evaluation and surgery, and the subsequent after-care. As the insured, your portion may vary based on the policy you have. From what I have been able to decipher, if one was to pay for the transplant out-of-pocket, it could run to about $500,000.

I look forward to hearing more about your story....
Ginger

My Name John wade
I m 64 is old.
I need Kidney Transplant and have been on dialysis for 10 years. I have a hernia and surgery.

Hi @johnwade, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, a place where you can connect with other people who are waiting transplant or have had a transplant. As per the community guidelines, your personal contact information has been removed.

You can learn from other transplant patients the ways that they used to look for a donor in this related discussion:
- Living Donor Request Suggestions: How did you find a living donor?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/living-donor-request-suggestions/
You might appreciate these tips from the Mayo Clinic transplant team on the blog:
- Finding a Living Donor https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/transplant/newsfeed-post/finding-a-living-donor/

Hi, @johnwade. Welcome to Connect. I am an organ transplant recipient. I was a patient with liver disease for aprox 8 years before I was referred for a consult and eventual evaluation by the liver transplant center where I live. ( During the initial consult, I had an appointment with the insurance coordinator who gathered my information and made contact with my medical insurance representative. After that I was under a special transplant coordinator who took on the responsibility of managing my insurance and getting approvals. That was 15 years ago, and thart is about as much as I remember.
I was also on dialysis, for several months and that was when Medicare became part of my coverage. Again, I don't remember the details, except that the dialysis center had a person who coordinated that, also.
Every medical center's costs and individual's costs are likely to be different because we each have a different set of health needs. I would suggest that you speak with someone at the kidney transplant center where you expect to be listed for a transplant. If you are not a transplant patient yet, I would suggest that you ask to speak to someone at your dialysis center or your nephrologist's office who can work with you to find the answers that you need about the costs.
Another route, if you do not have enough insurance coverage is, to ask about sources for possible financial assistance and or fund raising opportunities.

John, Does this sound like something that you could do?