To let you know about the transplant evaluation process I will begin by saying the following: the evaluation process can be short or it can be long. MANY factors come into play, the highlights of which will be discussed here. You will be scheduled to see several people:

• You will see the transplant nephrologist, who will take a detailed medical history and perform a physical assessment.

• You will see the transplant surgeon, who will also take a history but will be looking at your abdomen to see if there are any scars, masses, hernias or other abnormalities that would not allow for a surgery to take place.

• You will see the social worker, who will assess for any issues that would affect a good post-transplant outcome, such as transportation issues, medication compliance and home environment, just to name a few.

• You will see the financial counselor, who will explain in detail the surgery and medication benefits allowed under your specific insurance coverage.

These appointments are the starting point. Then we look at other issues, such as your age, history with your illness, present and past health problems. Depending on these, you will be referred to the appropriate consultations.

For example, if you are under 40 years old and in excellent health, you will probably only need an EKG for cardiology clearance. If you are over 40 years old, or have a history of diabetes, hypertension, or heart problems, then you will probably see the cardiologist for clearance. Another example: if you are over 50 years old, you will need a colonoscopy. The prevalence of cancer of the colon in the general population is very high, so we need to make sure your colon is clear of any disease. If you have a long history of diabetes or hypertension then we will send you for a vascular screen. A vascular screen will tell us the condition of your veins inside so that if you do get a kidney transplant there are good veins and arteries to connect to the new kidney.