UF Health is a top-performing institute for kidney failure, according to the U.S. News & World Report.

Update your location to show providers, locations, and services closest to you.
Experience makes all the difference when you need a transplant. The University of Florida Health Transplant Center is nationally recognized for its ability to provide hope and lifesaving care. If you have a condition like chronic kidney disease, end-stage kidney disease (often called kidney failure) or Type I diabetes mellitus, put your trust in a place that’s setting the standard for transplant care.
UF Health is a top-performing institute for kidney failure, according to the U.S. News & World Report.
UF Health is the national leader for liver, kidney and lung transplantation, based on data published by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.
Our center has over 50 years of experience performing kidney transplants — completing the first one in the state of Florida in 1966. We were the first in Florida to perform a simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant in 1995. Our center is certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and Children’s Medical Services.
With our multidisciplinary approach to care, several team members with complementary skills work together to provide you with the best transplant care possible. While other centers may follow a kidney or pancreas transplant patient for several months after surgery, at UF Health, our kidney transplant program likes to continue to work with your home physicians and follow you for life.
Our commitment is reflected in outstanding outcomes. For several years, the UF Health Kidney Transplant Program has consistently ranked among the top 10 nationwide on various quality metrics by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, or SRTR. The most recent data released in January 2024, placed UF Health No. 2 among kidney transplant programs.
Our Patient Education section gives you information about the kidney transplant process, from being evaluated as a candidate, what to expect during the procedure, and aftercare.
Our kidney transplant team delivers a customized approach to your care. We work together to thoroughly examine each transplant recipient and develop an individualized treatment plan based on your needs.
The UF Health Shands team will follow you closely as you await transplant and after your transplant, which helps improve patient outcomes. While waiting for an organ donation, you will receive a comprehensive yearly examination with some updated testing. This is because kidneys can become available at any moment, day or night, and you need to be physically ready for surgery at short notice.
During surgery, the donor kidney will be attached to the blood vessels in the lower part of your abdomen. Your surgeon will also attach the ureter (tube that drains the urine from kidney) to your bladder.
You can expect to be in the hospital for several days to a week following a kidney transplantation if all goes well with you and the donated kidney is starting to function. You will take anti-rejection medications to lessen the risk of rejection and to make it more likely that your donated kidney functions properly. You will focus on recovery and learning about your new organ. Daily labs, urine production and daily weights are monitored to assist the team with adjusting your new transplant medications.
More time. That’s all Liesel wanted for her old friend. See how a photographer got the color back in his life after a living donor kidney transplant at UF Health.
For some people with Type 1 diabetes mellitus, a pancreas transplant might be recommended. A successful pancreas transplant can decrease your dependency on insulin and help you return to a more normal life. If you have both diabetes and end-stage renal disease, and you are otherwise in good health, your pancreas and kidney might be transplanted at once.
Help support our kidney transplant patients by making a gift.
Our community and patient programs provide great value to patients, families and loved ones. People can find support, educational materials, expert consultants and more. In most instances, these programs are offered free of charge.
Children with serious illnesses can enjoy a camp experience in a safe, medically sound environment.
Offers a wide variety of music-based therapies from in-room performances to collaborative recording sessions.
Peer companionship for adolescents and young adults living with serious illness.
January 28, 2025
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — UF Health’s liver, kidney, and lung transplant programs are once again ranked as the best in Florida and remain among the country’s best,…
UF Health Shands Hospital, +1 more
In 2024, our blog highlighted the power of hope and healing through incredible patient stories and pushed for improved health through better awareness. These…
We are still waiting for the day when pigs can fly, but what about the day when a pig kidney can be transplanted successfully to a human body? Surgeons in New York completed a procedure that did...
More than 100,000 Americans are on the wait list for a new kidney, with more elderly and diabetic patients joining all the time. The average wait time is three to five years, and about 5 percent of...
Here’s some good news for the 100,000 people across the country who are awaiting a donor kidney: A study published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine offers evidence of a viable option...