What is a Transplant Surgeon?

A transplant surgeon is a physician who specializes in replacing failing organs with healthy ones from living or deceased donors. It's one of the most demanding surgical subspecialties in medicine, both technically and logistically. After medical school and a five-year general surgery residency, transplant surgeons complete a two-year fellowship in abdominal transplantation. Some pursue additional training to cover cardiothoracic transplant (heart and lung) as well.

The organs most commonly transplanted include kidneys, livers, hearts, lungs, and pancreases. Kidney transplants are by far the most frequent — over 27,000 are performed in the U.S. each year, followed by liver transplants at roughly 10,000 annually. Transplant surgeons also perform multi-organ transplants and, in some centers, emerging procedures like uterine and face transplantation.

What does a transplant surgeon do?

The operation itself is only one piece of a much larger process. Transplant surgeons evaluate potential recipients to determine whether they're healthy enough for surgery and likely to benefit from a new organ. They manage the waiting list process, coordinate with organ procurement organizations, and make time-sensitive decisions about donor organ quality — often in the middle of the night, since organs have limited preservation windows once recovered.

On the living donor side, transplant surgeons also perform the donor operation, most commonly for kidney and partial liver donations. These procedures carry their own set of considerations, since the surgeon is operating on a healthy person who assumes surgical risk to help someone else.

Post-transplant care is another major component of the job. Transplant surgeons work closely with transplant nephrologists, hepatologists, and other specialists to manage immunosuppression, monitor for organ rejection, and handle surgical complications. Patients require lifelong follow-up after a transplant, and the surgical team remains involved well beyond the initial recovery period.

If you or a family member has been told you may need an organ transplant, you can find a transplant surgeon near you through our directory.

If you've been told you need a transplant and want a specialist you can trust, chat with us to find a transplant surgeon near you.