CMS Pub. 100-02, ch. 11, § 140.17

A3-3178.18

A. Tissue Typing

Tissue typing of the recipient, as well as tissue typing and tests to determine the

suitability of a living donor or a deceased donor kidney, are covered as medical expenses,

necessary for the treatment of an eligible recipient. The costs of these services are

covered under the hospital insurance or medical insurance programs (Part B coverage

after recipient has exhausted Part A), and are reflected in the kidney acquisition costs.

B. Preservation Laboratories

The services performed by preservation laboratories are medically necessary for the

treatment of a beneficiary’s illness. A participating hospital is reimbursed for the

reasonable cost of such services which its own laboratory performs or which the hospital

purchases from a freestanding preservation laboratory or OPO.

C. Registration Fees

A participating hospital which expects to perform a kidney transplant will be reimbursed

the reasonable cost for OPTN registration fees, and the reasonable and necessary cost of

other fees, such as the registration fees for a kidney paired exchange, to register

candidates for organ transplants. These allowable registry fees must support or promote

organ transplantation and must not be duplicative in nature. (42 CFR § 413.402(b)(6)).

The reasonable cost incurred is attributable to listing the patient and the patient’s blood

characteristics with a professionally recognized organization that maintains a registry of

potential transplant candidates, and which provides a regular listing of such patients to

hospitals engaged in kidney procurement.