Ohio State Kidney Transplant Selection Criteria as of August 2026
What: Selection criteria are the requirements your transplant team uses to decide if a transplant is the best and safest option for someone with end stage renal (kidney) disease.
Indications: Patient has end-stage renal disease (ESRD) as evidenced by measured (actual urinary collection) creatinine clearance level or calculated GFR less than or equal to 20ml/min or initiation of dialysis.
Absolute Contraindications
- An active serious infection that has not been treated
- A medical condition that is expected to limit life expectancy to less than one year
- An active cancer (with some exceptions for certain low-risk cancers)
- AIDS infection
- Refusal to accept blood transfusions during any phase of the transplant process
- A need for continuous oxygen
- Morbid obesity, BMI > 45
- Open wounds that are not healing
- Active calciphylaxis
- Recent testing that shows use of non-prescribed narcotic drugs within the past six months (excluding marijuana/THC under current program criteria)
Relative Contraindications
- Morbid obesity, BMI > 40
- HIV infection that is not well controlled
- Severe heart disease or poor heart function
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Active hepatitis causing significant organ damage
- Active peptic ulcer disease
- Significant lung disease or pulmonary hypertension
- Reduced physical strength or functional ability that could make recovery difficult
- A recent history of cancer
- Recent major heart events or procedures, such as a heart attack, heart stent placement, or bypass surgery
- Certain abnormal laboratory values that may increase transplant-related risk
- Occasional need for supplemental oxygen
- Difficulty consistently following medical treatment recommendations, such as missing dialysis treatments regularly
- Active alcohol or substance use disorder
- Unwillingness to participate in required transplant care and follow-up appointments
- Psychiatric illness that is not well controlled and may interfere with transplant care
- Limited caregiver or family support needed for recovery after transplant
- Unstable housing or transportation challenges that make it difficult to follow the transplant treatment plan
- Significant unresolved financial or insurance barriers
- No established relationship with a dialysis provider despite requiring dialysis treatment
- Advanced age, including age ≥75 years, considered in conjunction with overall health, frailty, functional status and comorbidities