Once the doctor refers you to a transplant center, you will be evaluated by the transplant team. They will want to make sure that you are a good candidate for transplantation. You will have several visits over the course of several weeks or even months. You will need to have blood drawn and x-rays taken. The following may also be done:

• Blood or skin tests to check for a number of infections
• Tests to evaulate your heart, such as EKG, echocardiogram, cardiac catheterization
• Tests to look for cancer
• Tissue and blood typing, to help make sure your body will not reject the donated heart

You will also want to assess one or more transplant centers to see which would serve you best:

• Ask them how many transplants they perform every year and what their survival rates are. Compare these numbers with those from other centers.
• Ask about support groups they have available and how much help is offered with travel and housing arrangements.

If the transplant team believes you are a good candidate, you will be put on a national waiting list for a heart:

• Your place on the list is based on several factors. Key factors include the type and severity of your heart disease, and the likelihood that a transplant will be successful.
• The amount of time you spend on a waiting list is usually NOT a factor for how soon you get a heart, except in the case of children.

Most, but not all, patients awaiting heart transplants are very ill and need to be in the hospital. Many will require some sort of device to help their heart pump enough blood to the body, mostly often this is a ventricular assist device.