University of Maryland Transplant Center in Baltimore: Multi-Organ Transplant Care and Referral Hub
The University of Maryland Transplant Center is a major transplant program serving the Mid-Atlantic region, offering surgical transplantation for kidney, pancreas, liver, and heart, as well as living-donor evaluation and post-transplant follow-up. Located within University of Maryland Medical Center in downtown Baltimore, the program accepts referrals from across the region and manages waitlist operations and pre-transplant coordination for candidates.
What the center actually is
UMTC operates as a full transplant surgery and medicine service embedded in a large academic health system. The program has transplant surgeons, nephrologists, hepatologists, and cardiologists who both perform surgery and manage the medical pathway before and after transplant. Unlike smaller surgical centers that perform only specific organ types, UMTC maintains four solid-organ programs, which means candidates and patients may move between specialties based on eligibility (for example, a candidate might be evaluated for both kidney and pancreas transplant). The center is part of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which allocates organs nationally, and candidates placed on a UMTC waitlist remain eligible for organs from that national pool.
Services and referral pathways
The center accepts referrals for living-donor kidney and pancreas transplant and deceased-donor transplant for kidney, pancreas, liver, and heart. Once a candidate is referred by their primary nephrologist, hepatologist, or cardiologist, they undergo a multi-step evaluation: imaging, bloodwork, cardiac testing (for most candidates), social work assessment, and psychology clearance. This workup is coordinated through an outpatient transplant clinic; the timeline typically runs 4 to 8 weeks for kidney candidates, longer for heart candidates. Candidates listed with UMTC are activated on the national waitlist and may receive an organ from any hospital, not only UMTC; the center does not guarantee that you will receive your transplant there, though the program performs surgery on its own candidates when organs are available locally.
Living-donor surgery is scheduled in advance after the donor completes a separate medical and psychological evaluation. Post-transplant care is provided both in the transplant clinic and through the patient's original nephrologist or cardiologist, allowing shared management across Baltimore.
Specific costs vary by insurance and are typically covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or private plans for transplant evaluation and the surgery itself; however, costs differ sharply based on whether you are a U.S. citizen (affecting access to the national waitlist) and on whether you have insurance coverage for the entire post-transplant immunosuppression regimen, which is lifelong and expensive. Candidates without insurance are still evaluated, though transplant centers are required to have a financial counselor address payment and coverage before listing.
Comparison to regional alternatives
Maryland has two additional transplant programs: Johns Hopkins (kidney, liver, pancreas, heart) and Mercy Medical Center (kidney, pancreas). Johns Hopkins is larger in volume and has separate liver and heart programs staffed differently; a candidate referred to Johns Hopkins will be listed there unless they specifically request to be co-listed at UMTC or another center, which can happen. Mercy Medical Center operates a smaller kidney and pancreas program and is an option for candidates closer to West Baltimore. UMTC is the program most affiliated with University of Maryland School of Medicine and serves as a training site for transplant fellows. For candidates outside Maryland, program size, insurance acceptance, and geographic proximity to family matter more than subtle differences in outcome; choose based on your medical condition (if you need heart or liver transplant, Johns Hopkins and UMTC are your Maryland options) and which program's network includes your primary care doctor.
Who this center suits and who it does not
UMTC is appropriate for candidates with end-stage renal disease, pancreatic insufficiency, end-stage liver disease, or end-stage heart failure referred by a physician. It suits patients with stable or manageable comorbidities, those with documented compliance with dialysis or other pre-transplant regimens, and those with social support to manage lifelong immunosuppression. The center will not list candidates with active infection, untreated malignancy, severe cardiovascular disease deemed unrecoverable, or absence of social support; these decisions are made on a case-by-case basis after evaluation. Candidates aged 70 or older can be and are listed, though additional cardiac and oncologic screening is routine.
The first visit and workup process
A first visit to the transplant clinic includes meeting the transplant coordinator, who explains the evaluation timeline and forms. Bring your insurance information, all prior medical records, and confirmation of your referring physician's contact. The evaluation appointment itself typically involves labwork, EKG, and a preliminary assessment that may be combined with follow-up imaging as an outpatient. You will meet a social worker (required by UNOS) and a psychologist or psychiatric nurse (required for all candidates before listing). If you are a living-donor candidate, your donor will begin a separate evaluation at the same time, which is often more extensive because the donor is healthy.
Location, parking, and logistics
UMTC clinics are located at University of Maryland Medical Center, 22 South Greene Street, downtown Baltimore. Parking is available in multiple lots; validation is often provided for transplant clinic visits (confirm at check-in). The transplant clinic operates Monday through Friday during business hours, with specific clinic days for kidney, liver, heart, and living-donor evaluation posted on the center's website. Wait times for new consultations run 2 to 6 weeks depending on urgency. Call the main transplant center line to schedule your first appointment or ask your physician's office to refer you directly.
The University of Maryland Transplant Center remains a critical resource for Baltimoreans and the Mid-Atlantic requiring organ transplant, with the infrastructure and multi-specialty depth to manage candidates across four organ types.
