How long is the wait for kidney transplant in California?
Most Californians wait 7–10 years for a transplant. You don't have to.
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Discover transplant hospitals in California
| Transplant Center | Wait time forecast (months) | Patients on waiting list | 2024 deceased-donor transplants | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Joseph Hospital | 34 | 249 | 104 | |
| Cedars-Sinai Med Center | 59 | 1249 | 251 | |
| UCI Medical Center | 59 | 661 | 187 | |
| UCSD Medical Center | 61 | 609 | 123 | |
| Keck Hospital of USC | 98 | 1237 | 137 | |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital | 100 | 621 | 70 | |
| UCLA Medical Center | 101 | 1920 | 259 | |
| UC Davis Medical Center | 104 | 1927 | 220 | |
| Scripps Green Hospital | 108 | 368 | 32 | |
| Loma Linda Univ Med Ctr | 125 | 1783 | 178 | |
| Univ of CA San Francisco Med Ctr | 146 | 3800 | 232 | |
| Harbor UCLA Med Center | 165 | 562 | 48 | |
| Stanford Health Care | 177 | 1723 | 114 |
Wait Times:
Wait Times:
Organ shortage: DMV Form
So why aren't there more organs available in California?
Because in California, like most other states in the nation, you must specifically request to become an organ donor at the Department of Motor Vehicles when you're there to get or renew your driver's license. No one asks you if you want to become a donor. And there's no marketing campaign to make you aware of this opportunity, either, so unless you know about it and unless you specifically ask, nobody is going to ask you, nobody is going to give you this opportunity. And yet even with this obscure procedure over 20 percent of Californians have signed up to be organ donors, which is fantastic. But imagine what it could be if everyone knew of this opportunity. And that's what the Governor's bill will do. It will simply require the DMV to ask you if you'd like to become an organ donor. That's it. Asking this one simple question may double the number of transplant organs available in California - one simple question. And that's a very high return on investment, especially for the over 20,000 Californians currently waiting for an organ transplant.
Steve Jobs , announcing the bill SB 1395 amendment at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, October 2010.
BILL NUMBER: SB 1395 has been amended with the following:
(b) (1) On and after July 1, 2011, an application for an original or renewal driver's license or identification card shall contain a space for the applicant to enroll in the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. The application shall include check boxes for an applicant to mark either
(A) Yes, add my name to the donor registry or
(B) I do not wish to register at this time.
and enacted in October 2010.
Organ shortage: Continues
California’s cultural and linguistic diversity means patients approach kidney transplant care with different histories, expectations, and levels of trust. However, most California kidney transplant centers continue to report wait times of 7–10 years—among the longest in the country. Because patients are rarely encouraged to consider shorter-wait programs in other states, many Californians feel limited to local options and remain stuck in long queues. Until patients have better guidance on how to navigate transplant centers nationwide or pursue multi-listing, rebuilding trust in the system will remain a challenge.
California’s diverse communities bring different levels of trust and expectations to the transplant system. But with many California centers still showing 7–10 year wait times—and little guidance to look at faster programs in other states—patients often feel stuck. Until people get clearer options and support, rebuilding trust will be difficult.
Donate Life California donor registry overseeas the work of 4 California's Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) with the mission to guide donor families through the donation process. To date, the work resulted in a significant increase from the 31% who register as donors to the 72% who actually donate possible.