Jackson Memorial Hospital University of Miami School of Medicine Kidney Transplant: Wait Times & Patient Data

Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami offers the option to complete much of the initial transplant evaluation virtually, reducing the need to travel. One recent patient was scheduled for four virtual appointments and was asked to watch a series of four educational videos as part of the evaluation process.

Built for High-Volume Transplantation. Miami Transplant Institute has built the staff and resources needed to run one of the country's largest kidney transplant programs. At its peak in 2020, the program performed 455 deceased-donor kidney transplants in a single year—more than one per day. The team manages hundreds of deceased-donor transplants, reviews organ offers, and brings kidneys to Miami and brings kidneys to Miami from across Florida and from distant parts of the country, including California, Washington, Illinois, Colorado, and New England. Because of its size, the program can take on transplant opportunities that smaller programs might not be able to handle.

Exceptionally Broad Access to Deceased-Donor Kidneys. Miami Transplant Institute has historically obtained deceased-donor kidneys from a remarkably broad geographic area. In 2022, only 84 of its 380 deceased-donor kidney transplants came from the local South Florida donation area; the remainder came from other organ procurement organizations in Florida and across the country. This pattern reflects the scale of Miami's transplant operation and its ability to evaluate, procure and transport kidneys from many different regions. These were not mostly kidneys with higher KDPI scores. About 37% had a KDPI of 34 or lower, while only about 7% had a KDPI above 85, reflecting that Miami’s broad organ sourcing included kidneys across a wide range of donor profiles.