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Medicare Organ Transplants: Coverage and Related Costs

Adapted from Your Medicare Benefits, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The selected guidance concerns Medicare coverage and payment, not a recommendation for medical treatment. Numbered page references below refer to the linked source publication.

Coverage can depend on medical necessity, the setting, provider participation, and your plan’s rules. Use the cited publication for the full conditions and check the plan year when comparing costs or enrollment choices.

Kidney transplants

A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure that places a healthy kidney from a donor into a person whose kidneys have failed. Part A and Part B cover different items and services related to kidney transplants. Medicare covers these services if you get them from the Medicare-certified hospital where you’ll get your transplant or another hospital that participates in Medicare.

Part A covers transplant services and pays part of the costs for:

Inpatient services in a Medicare-certified hospital
A kidney registration fee
Laboratory and other tests to evaluate your medical condition and the condition of potential kidney donors
Finding the proper kidney for your transplant surgery (if there’s no kidney donor)
Any additional inpatient hospital care for your donor in case of problems from surgery
Blood (whole units of packed red blood cells, blood components, and the cost of processing and giving you blood)

Part A also covers the full cost of care for your kidney donor (including care before surgery, the actual surgery, and care after surgery). You and your donor won’t have to pay a deductible, coinsurance, or any other costs for the donor’s hospital stay.

Part B covers transplant services and pays part of the costs for blood, and doctors’ services for:

Kidney transplant surgery (including care before surgery, the actual surgery, and care after surgery)
Your kidney donor during their hospital stay

If Medicare helped pay for your transplant, Part B also covers transplant drug therapy (including standard and compounded immunosuppressive drugs) to prevent organ rejection.

Costs For the transplant and related services, you pay:

20% of the Medicare-approved amount for Part B services, after you meet the Part B deductible.
Nothing for the services provided to the donor for a kidney transplant.
Nothing for Medicare-approved laboratory tests.

For Part A inpatient hospital cost information, go to pages 58–59.

Things to know If you’re thinking about joining a Medicare Advantage Plan and are on a transplant waiting list or think you need a transplant, check with the plan before you join to make sure your doctors, other health care providers, and hospitals are in the plan’s network. Also, check the plan’s rules for prior authorization.

More information

Go to:
“Kidney disease education” on page 62.
“Kidney transplants (children)” below.
“Organ transplants” on pages 79–80.
“Prescription drugs (outpatient)” on pages 89–91 for more on immunosuppressive drugs.
Visit Medicare.gov/coverage/kidney-transplants.

Kidney transplants (children)

A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure that places a healthy kidney from a donor into a child whose kidneys have failed. Part A and Part B cover different items and services related to children’s (pediatric) kidney transplants.

Part A usually covers these transplant services:

Inpatient services in an approved hospital
Kidney registry fee
Laboratory and other tests to evaluate your child’s medical condition and the condition of possible kidney donors
The costs of finding the proper kidney for your child’s transplant surgery
The full cost of care for your child’s kidney donor
Blood (if a transfusion is needed)

Part B covers these transplant services:

Doctors’ services for kidney transplant surgery
Doctors’ services for the kidney donor during their hospital stay
Blood (if a transfusion is needed)

If Medicare helped pay for your child’s transplant, Part B also covers transplant drug therapy (including standard and compounded immunosuppressive drugs) to prevent organ rejection.

Costs

After you pay the Part B deductible, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for Part B services.
If your child has other insurance, your costs may be different.
For Part A inpatient hospital cost information, go to pages 58–59.

More information

Go to:
“Dialysis (children)” on page 37.
“Prescription drugs (outpatient)” on pages 89–91 for more on immunosuppressive drugs.
Visit Medicare.gov/coverage/kidney-transplants-children.

Organ transplants

An organ transplant is a surgical procedure that replaces a damaged organ with a healthy one from a donor. Part A covers necessary tests, labs, and exams, and generally also covers:

Services for heart, lung, kidney, pancreas, intestine, and liver transplants
The costs of finding the proper organ for your transplant surgery

Part B covers:

Doctors’ services associated with heart, lung, kidney, pancreas, intestine, and liver transplants
Immunosuppressive drugs to prevent organ rejection in certain circumstances

Costs For your transplant and related services, you pay:

20% of the Medicare-approved amount for Part B services, after you meet the Part B deductible
Nothing for the services provided to a living donor for a kidney transplant
Nothing for Medicare-certified laboratory tests

For Part A hospital inpatient cost information, go to pages 58–59.

Things to know

You must get an organ transplant in a Medicare-approved facility.
If you’re thinking about joining a Medicare Advantage Plan and are on a transplant waiting list or think you need a transplant, check with the plan before you join to make sure your doctors, other health care providers, and hospitals are in the plan’s network. Also, check the plan’s rules for prior authorization.
Medicare doesn’t pay for transportation to a transplant facility.

More information

Go to:
“Kidney transplants” on pages 62–63.
“Kidney transplants (children)” on pages 63–64.
“Other transplants” on page 82.
“Prescription drugs (outpatient)” on pages 89–91 for immunosuppressive drugs.
“Pancreas transplants” on page 86.
Visit Medicare.gov/coverage/organ-transplants.

Other transplants

Under certain conditions, Medicare covers transplants that aren’t organ transplants:

Both Part A and Part B may cover stem cell transplants (including bone marrow transplants), and the necessary tests, labs, and exams associated with the transplant.
Part B may also cover cornea transplants.

Costs For your transplant and related services, you pay:

20% of the Medicare-approved amount for Part B services, after you meet the Part B deductible.
Nothing for Medicare-certified laboratory tests.

For Part A inpatient hospital cost information, go to pages 58–59.

More information Visit Medicare.gov/coverage/other-transplants.

Pancreas transplants

A pancreas transplant is a surgical procedure that places a healthy pancreas from a donor into a person whose pancreas has failed. Medicare covers pancreas transplants under certain conditions. If you have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and need a pancreas transplant, Medicare covers the transplant if it’s done at the same time or after you get a kidney transplant.

In some cases, Medicare may also cover a pancreas transplant even if you don’t need a kidney transplant.

Costs

After you meet the Part B deductible, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for Part B services.
You pay nothing for Medicare-approved laboratory tests.

For Part A inpatient hospital cost information, go to pages 58–59.

More information

Go to:
“Kidney transplants” on pages 62–63.
“Kidney transplants (children)” on pages 63–64.
“Organ transplants” on pages 79-80.
“Other transplants” on page 82.
Visit Medicare.gov/coverage/pancreas-transplants.

Source and further reading

Your Medicare Benefits — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Public domain U.S. government educational material, accessed October 28, 2026. Fynoptic has selected sections, removed print navigation, and reformatted the text for this guide. The agency does not endorse Fynoptic.

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