How has COVID19 affected your ability to get a transplant?

[DorisL_NKF]

For those on the waitlist, especially with a living donor, has your transplant clinic delayed or rescheduled your transplant surgery? Are evaluations for you and/or your living donor continuing or has it been suspended?

[cs65 NKF Ambassador]

I am on the waiting list for a deceased donor kidney transplant. My center notified me that all living donor transplants could not happen during the COVID-19 pandemic, but deceased donor transplants were also put on hold temporarily. Living donor transplants are considered elective surgery. They will be making a decision about deceased donor transplants in several weeks. I am still accruing time on the list and they are still doing appointments by telephone only at this time. I am in Massachusetts.

[Jayhawker]

I’m waitlisted since January 10, 2020. I just talked with my transplant case manager last week. She said that my transplant center has continued to do transplants throughout COVID 19 stay at home orders. They did pause new transplant evaluations. They had just begun doing new evaluations again about a week before. I did not ask her whether the transplants were for both living and deceased donor kidneys though.

Jayhawker