Patients from outside New York and from across the state often choose Erie County Medical Center for deceased donor transplants because the center has one of the shortest wait times on the East Coast.

For patients who traveled from other areas, Erie County Medical Center requires the ability to stay at least 6 weeks after transplant. This is required because the transplant team needs to adjust immunosuppressant medications and monitor recovery. The typical hospital stay after surgery is 3 days; the next week, physicians will want you to come every day by 8am for blood draws. The doctor would typically instruct you to increase or decrease the dosage of certain medications once they know how your body responds to and metabolizes the medication. If all goes well, the morning blood draws will taper off gradually; the team will see you every other day next week and may be just once the week after. In a few weeks, your doctor will need to see you only once a week. After you fully recover, your local nephrologist will monitor your blood tests in your hometown.

Out-of-town patients must return to Erie County Medical Center for stent removal, typically in 8-12 weeks. Stent is a temporary soft plastic tube placed during a kidney transplant surgery; the removal procedure is quick.