Kidney-Pancreas Transplantation

Referring physicians, dialysis centers, insurance case managers and other transplant centers can make a referral for a patient to be evaluated for transplantation appropriateness here. 

During an outpatient clinic evaluation visit, our goal is to have all the pre-transplant initial testing, lab work (including tissue typing) and clinical testing, education, social work consultation and surgeon interview completed in one day.

If approved for transplant listing, the final step involves approval by the Ohio Solid Organ Transplantation Consortium (OSOTC). When approved by the OSOTC, you are then listed for kidney-pancreas transplantation on the United Network for Organ Sharing national waiting list. A letter is sent to your insurance company providing recommendations for transplantation and requesting approval.

Wait time for a kidney-pancreas transplant is impacted by whether both organs (kidney and pancreas) are coming from a deceased donor or whether the kidney is coming from a living donor and pancreas from deceased donor.

You must be reachable by phone at all times. When a kidney and pancreas become available for you, you will be notified by the pre-transplant coordinator and admitted to our transplant unit on the ninth floor of Rhodes Hall. You will have multiple lab tests done to ensure you are ready for transplant. 

After your surgery, you may be transferred to the surgical intensive care unit then to the transplant unit. Your hospital stay is generally between seven to 14 days, depending on complications and your condition.

You will be seen daily by the transplant surgeons, midlevel providers and discharge coordinators. You'll receive individualized education from floor nurses and attend education classes on medication and general discharge instructions. The discharge coordinators manage your care process, communicate with insurance case managers and plan for discharge. A social worker will visit you to address any psychosocial issues associated with the transplant.

Once discharged from the hospital, you will have:

• Lab Tests: You will visit a lab for testing two times a week for the first first three months post-transplant. Your lab results are evaluated by a transplant coordinator and a transplant surgeon.
  
  
• Outpatient Clinic Visits: you will be seen in our outpatient clinic weekly for the first month, then again at 6 weeks, 9 weeks, 12 weeks, 4 months, 6 months, and one year post-transplant (and at any other time in between if warranted). You will be seen annually thereafter, unless more frequent visits are required. After you are released by your surgeon, you will be seen by the Transplant Medicine Service. Lab frequency is reduced as you progress.

We will communicate with your referring physician at the beginning and end of each hospitalization, as well as with each outpatient clinic visit.

Because of the many interactions of other medications with immunosuppressives, please check with the post-transplant office prior to filling any prescription.

Once your kidney and pancreas function stabilize, you may be eligible to transition your care closer to home. This transition is dependent on your kidney function, pancreas function and overall health at that time. Please discuss this option with your post-transplant coordinator.

This doctor specializes in kidney transplants and will follow you before, during and after your transplant. They will complete a physical exam and discuss what additional testing is needed to prepare you for your transplant. 

This doctor who specializes in pancreas transplants will follow you before, during and after your transplant. He or she will complete a physical exam and discuss with you testing that is needed to prepare you for your pancreas transplant.

This doctor will perform your kidney-pancreas transplant surgery. They will discuss the risks and benefits related to surgery and assist you in understanding what to expect after receiving your transplant.

These doctors, who specialize in infectious diseases, will follow you before and after your transplant (if needed) to reduce risk of infection.

• Nicholas Marschalk, DO
• Courtney Nichols, MD
• Sajed Sarwar, MD

The advanced practice providers include physician assistants and nurse practitioners who work closely with your physician to ensure continuity of care throughout your stay at the hospital and your transition to outpatient care. He or she orders and monitors diagnostic tests and treatments, responds to urgent needs, diagnoses and treats problems if they arise and provide the educational tools and resources necessary to continue success with your transplant once you are discharged.

These are nurses who will be your primary contact from the time you are referred for a transplant evaluation throughout your care here. They will help answer any questions you may have and assist you throughout your transplant experience.

These professionals meet with you to evaluate your psychological readiness for transplantation.

A transplant pharmacist is a pharmacist who specifically works with patients who have received a transplanted organ. This pharmacist has been trained to understand details about anti-rejection medications, works closely with your transplant physician to help manage your medications and helps answer medication questions you may have.

The pharmacy patient coordinator offers assessment, linkage and referrals for assistance to patients who need certain medications and have high co-pays or no prescription drug coverage.

Contact: 800-626-2538

The list of accepted insurances for kidney-pancreas transplant can often change. Please contact your health care insurance provider to confirm your coverage for transplant at Ohio State’s Comprehensive Transplant Center.

Ohio State's Tissue Typing Laboratory ensures that an organ is compatible with its recipient. The process involves matching a person's unique configuration of six human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules with a potential pool of approximately 100 different varieties.

Cross-match testing helps prevent some types of organ rejection. The testing involves mixing cells from the donor's and recipient's serum to determine whether rejection-promoting antibodies will occur. This information helps your physicians plan for the right medication strategy to best control organ rejection.

Transplant support testing includes monitoring new drugs that patients use, testing to determine a patient's overall ability to maintain a recipient's organ and developing new tests to support many of the clinical aspects of transplantation.

Organ transplant affects a person’s body, spirit and life in numerous ways. Adjusting to these changes can often be easier with the assistance of others with similar experiences.

Open to all Ohio State’s abdominal transplant recipients AND waitlisted kidney, pancreas and liver patients, Ohio State’s Abdominal Transplant Support Group offers an emotionally supportive community before and after the transplant journey and is one of many additional, optional resources offered to benefit our transplant patients. 

• What: Ohio State's Abdominal Transplant Support Group
• Who: Transplant recipients (liver, kidney and/or pancreas) and patients waitlisted for transplant
• Date: Weekly, every Thursday
• Time: 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
• Location: Virtual - click HERE to join meeting

For questions or concerns, please call the transplant social work office at 614-366-3273.