Appointments with the heart transplant program require a referral from the patient's current physician. If you would like to be considered for transplant, please speak to your physician about eligibility.

Referral Process

To expedite the referral process, please complete the heart transplant referral form (PDF, 29 KB) and fax it to 919-681-8860.

Please call with any questions or if there is additional information we can provide to facilitate the referral process.

Contact Information

Voice: 919-684-2651
Fax: 919-681-8860
Email: Heart_Transplant@mc.duke.edu

The following information is needed to process a referral:

• Patient name, address, and phone number
• Patient height and weight
• Date of birth
• Recent history and physical and/or discharge summary
• Most recent right and left heart catheterization reports
• Most recent echocardiogram report
• Most recent chest x-ray
• Operative report from any thoracic surgeries
• Insurance information (if available)
• Referring physician's name, address, telephone number and fax number

Once the referral information is received, we will evaluate new patients for consideration for heart transplant as quickly as the referring physician deems appropriate.

For critical patients, hospital transfer and evaluation can be arranged at the time of contact.

For routine referrals, our cardiologist will see patients and begin an evaluation within one to two weeks.

The referring physician is welcome to call our office to request consultation information. If the need is more urgent, the physician may page the transplant cardiologist on call via the Duke operator.

Once the evaluation has been completed, the referring physician will receive a letter with the transplant team's decision whether transplantation is appropriate for the patient and a copy of all test results obtained during the patient's evaluation.

You may also want to refer to the "Before Your Transplant" section in the Patient Guide for more information on the indications and evaluation process for transplant.