Appointments with the heart transplant program require a simple phone call from you or your physician.

Please call 800-249-5864 and select option 4 or 919-613-7777 and select option 4, with any questions or if there is additional information we can provide to facilitate the referral process. You can also email Heart_Transplant@mc.duke.edu

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.

The following information is required to process a referral:

• Patient name, address, and phone number
• Date of birth
• Referring physician's name, address, telephone number, and fax number

Forwarding the following materials will expedite the evaluation process:

• 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)

For critically ill 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.

Referring physicians are welcome to call our office to request consultation information. If the need is more urgent, please contact the Duke University Hospital operator at 919-684-8111 and ask for the transplant cardiologist on call to be paged.

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.