Refer a Patient for Transplant

The requirements for organ transplant referrals differ for each program.

​​​​​Please refer to the appropriate organ group below for information on how to refer a patient for transplant:

 

Patients must be referred by their heart specialist to the Heart Transplant Team at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver.

Form: Regional cardiology referral form 

 

 

Patients must be referred by their Nephrologist to the Renal Transplant Program at Vancouver General Hospital or St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver.

Form: Kidney transplant referral form

 

 

Patients must be referred by their liver specialist to the provincial liver transplant program at Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver.  If the patient does not have a liver specialist, referrals from primary care providers are also accepted. 

For alcohol-associated liver disease, there is no minimum period of abstinence to accept a referral (effective May 2019). 

 
The current version of the clinical guidelines includes three key updates: 
  • Additional guidance to clinicians to recognize and consider the historical experience and generational trauma of Indigenous peoples when supporting Indigenous patients through their transplant care journey. 
  • Additional guidance concerning all patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), auto-immune hepatitis (AIH), or other cholestatic liver diseases referred for transplant to consider the patient’s overall condition and not just the MELD score alone.   
  • The implementation of MELD 3.0 to address some limitations of MELD-Na (effective as of November 30, 2025). 

For more information, please refer to the complete Liver-Transplant-Clinical-Guidelines-Final_17N​ov25.pdf  (Revised November 2025) 

While the current guidelines are based on available evidence, considerations and expert opinions at the time of revision, they will be updated regularly as needed based on evolving liver transplantation evidence, program quality and outcomes monitoring, practice changes and constructive feedback. 

Referral Form: Liver-Transplant-Referral-Form-2025.pdf  (Revised November 2025)

For cirrhotic patients being transferred to VGH for evaluation for liver transplant, please refer to this checklist​.  

The liver transplant program has an Indigenous Care Coordinator available to support self-identified Indigenous patients and their families who are receiving liver transplant care. The Indigenous Care Coordinator provides a range of health and mental health navigation, advocacy and support services. Please see this brochure​ for more details. ​​​

 

Pancreas transplant patients must be referred by a specialist to the Pancreas Transplant Team at Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver.

Referrals (for either islet with no previous kidney transplant; or islet after kidney transplant) to the BC Islet Transplant Program may come from a referring endocrinologist or from the Renal Transplant program.

Forms:

Pancreas transplant referral form (PDF)

Islet transplant referral form (PDF)

 

Patients must be referred by their lung specialist to the Lung Transplant Team at Vancouver General Hospital, in Vancouver.

Form: Lung  transplant referral form (PDF)

 

Pediatric patients must be referred by a specialist to the BC Children's Transplant Clinic. 

Questions?

If you have specific questions about how to refer a patient for transplant, please contact the program centres directly.