Healthcare Practitioners and Technical

Transplant Coordinator Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Guides patients through evaluation, waitlisting, transplant surgery, and long-term follow-up at a hospital transplant center.

Median pay
$97,550
Growth to 2035
+5.6%
Openings a year
180,800
Typical entry
Bachelor's

Guides patients through evaluation, waitlisting, transplant surgery, and long-term follow-up at a hospital transplant center. BLS does not publish separate figures for registered nurses; it counts them within registered nurse (SOC 29-1141), whose median pay is $97,550 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.

  • SOC 29-1141
  • Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
  • Last updated October 9, 2026

At a glance

Transplant Coordinator in four numbers

Median pay
$97,550a year, or $46.90/hr
Lowest 10% $69KTop 10% $137K

US median, all jobs: $50,980

BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected growth
+5.6%Faster than average
This career
+5.6%
All jobs
+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035
ItemValue
This career+5.6%
All jobs+3.5%
BLS EP, 2025–2035
Openings a year
180,8003,465,400 jobs today
  • Jobs in 20253.5M
  • Projected 20353.7M
Employment, 2025–2035
ItemValue
Jobs in 20253.5M
Projected 20353.7M
BLS EP, 2025–2035
Typical education
Bachelor'sneeded to enter
  • High school0.8%
  • Certificate22.5%
  • Associate's19.4%
  • Bachelor's55.9%
  • Master's1.4%
Highest education held by registered nurses
SegmentValue
High school0.8%
Certificate22.5%
Associate's19.4%
Bachelor's55.9%
Master's1.4%
BLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET

Also advertised as: Clinical Transplant Coordinator, Certified Clinical Transplant Coordinator, CCTC, Transplant Nurse Coordinator, Pre-Transplant Coordinator.

Pay

How much do Registered Nurses make?

Annual pay, lowest-paid to highest-paid

Every transplant coordinator in the US, by percentile of annual wage

Median

$97,550

Middle half earn $80,330 to $112,350

10th
$68,940
25th
$80,330
75th
$112,350
90th
$137,470

All US occupations: $50,980

Transplant Coordinator annual wages
PercentileValue
10th$68,940
25th$80,330
Median$97,550
75th$112,350
90th$137,470
All US occupations$50,980

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Median annual wage
$97,550
Median hourly wage
$46.90/hr
Mean annual wage
$101,420
People employed
3,379,720

Versus all US occupations

At $97,550, Registered Nurses earn 91% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $46,570 a year.

Versus healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

Inside the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical group, where the middle occupation pays $102,760, this is 5% below the group median.

Pay range

The top 10% earn $137,470 or more while the bottom 10% earn $68,940, a gap of 2.0×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.

Rank in the bank

This median pays more than 70% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.

Highest-paying state

California pays the most at $140,270, and still leads at $126,689 once local prices are taken into account.

Pay by state

Which states pay Registered Nurses the most?

State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.

Top 10 states by median annual wage for Registered Nurses
StateMedianCOL-adjustedEmployed
1California$140,270$126,689338,940
2Hawaii$136,320$123,98312,940
3Oregon$129,010$124,81539,730
4Washington$124,200$116,06169,260
5Alaska$109,480$106,9577,510
6New York$109,440$101,408205,810
7New Jersey$106,500$97,88292,680
8Massachusetts$104,550$98,85988,200
9Nevada$103,670$103,69227,070
10Connecticut$102,740$99,16040,110
See all 53 states, sortable, with cost-of-living adjustments

Job outlook

Is Transplant Coordinator a growing career?

Projected change in jobs

Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation

Registered Nurses
+5.6%
All US occupations
+3.5%

Faster than average. +5.6% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.

Projected employment change, 2025–2035
ItemValue
Registered Nurses+5.6%
All US occupations+3.5%

Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035

Faster than average

BLS projects employment of Registered Nurses to change 5.6% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 194,700 more jobs.

Annual openings

About 180,800 openings are projected each year, 5.2% of the 3,465,400 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.

Getting in

How to become a Transplant Coordinator

Most transplant coordinators are registered nurses, often with a bachelor's degree and experience in critical care, nephrology, or medical-surgical nursing. Some programs hire physician assistants or other clinicians. New coordinators learn transplant medicine, immunosuppression, and allocation rules on the job.

The American Board for Transplant Certification (ABTC) offers the Certified Clinical Transplant Coordinator (CCTC) credential, and the Certified Clinical Transplant Nurse (CCTN) for nurses providing direct transplant care. The North American Transplant Coordinators Organization (NATCO) provides education and professional networking.

  1. 1

    Typical entry-level education

    Bachelor's degree

  2. 2

    Work experience in a related occupation

    None

  3. 3

    Typical on-the-job training

    None

  4. 4

    Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)

    Medium preparation

BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.

What education people in the job have

O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as registered nurses.

  • Bachelor's Degree55.9%
  • Post-Secondary Certificate22.5%
  • Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree19.4%
  • Master's Degree1.4%
  • High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)0.8%
Highest education held by registered nurses
ItemValue
Bachelor's Degree55.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate22.5%
Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree19.4%
Master's Degree1.4%
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)0.8%

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

The work

What does a Transplant Coordinator do?

Clinical transplant coordinators work at hospital transplant programs for kidneys, livers, hearts, lungs, and other organs. Pre-transplant coordinators guide patients through the evaluation process, scheduling tests and consultations, educating them about risks and responsibilities, and presenting cases to the selection committee. They manage the waiting list and keep patients ready for a call that can come at any time.

When an organ is offered, they help coordinate the patient's admission. Post-transplant coordinators follow recipients for years, monitoring lab results and anti-rejection medication levels, adjusting care with the transplant physicians, and teaching patients to recognize rejection and infection. Some coordinators also manage living donor evaluations.

Day-to-day tasks

  1. Coordinate the medical evaluation of transplant candidates
  2. Educate patients and families on transplant risks, medications, and lifestyle
  3. Present candidates to the transplant selection committee
  4. Manage patients on the organ waiting list
  5. Coordinate admission when an organ offer is accepted
  6. Monitor post-transplant labs and immunosuppressant levels
  7. Evaluate and support living donors
  8. Maintain documentation required by transplant regulations

Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.

Working conditions and hours

Transplant coordinators work in hospital transplant centers and affiliated clinics. Much of the work involves phone calls, case management, and clinic visits during weekday hours, but coordinators share on-call coverage for organ offers and post-transplant problems, which can mean overnight calls. The job involves long-term relationships with patients.

Where the work happens

  • Indoors, climate-controlled

    NeverEvery day

    Indoors, in a climate-controlled space, every day.

  • Outdoors in all weather

    NeverEvery day

    Almost never works outdoors.

Physical demands

  • Sitting

    NeverAlmost all the time
  • Standing

    NeverAlmost all the time
  • Bending or twisting

    NeverAlmost all the time

Working with people

  • Contact with other people

    NoneConstant

    Constant contact with other people.

  • Face-to-face discussions

    NeverEvery day

    Face-to-face discussions every day.

  • Dealing with the public

    Not importantExtremely important

    Dealing with customers or the public is very important.

Pressure and stakes

  • Strict deadlines

    NeverEvery day
  • Conflict situations

    NeverEvery day

    Handling conflict situations at least monthly.

  • Cost of a mistake

    Not seriousExtremely serious

Autonomy

  • Freedom to decide

    NoneA lot

    A lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.

Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.

Core skills

O*NET importance, 1 to 5

  • Active Listening4.0
  • Speaking4.0
  • Critical Thinking4.0
  • Reading Comprehension3.9
  • Writing3.8
  • Monitoring3.8
  • Active Learning3.5
  • Learning Strategies3.3
Core skills for Registered Nurses
ItemValue
Active Listening4.0
Speaking4.0
Critical Thinking4.0
Reading Comprehension3.9
Writing3.8
Monitoring3.8
Active Learning3.5
Learning Strategies3.3

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

Transferable skills

O*NET importance, 1 to 5

  • Social Perceptiveness4.1
  • Coordination4.0
  • Service Orientation4.0
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.9
  • Complex Problem Solving3.5
  • Instructing3.3
  • Time Management3.1
  • Operations Monitoring3.0
Transferable skills for Registered Nurses
ItemValue
Social Perceptiveness4.1
Coordination4.0
Service Orientation4.0
Judgment and Decision Making3.9
Complex Problem Solving3.5
Instructing3.3
Time Management3.1
Operations Monitoring3.0

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

Tools and software

  • Business intelligence and data analysis software · in demand
  • Data base user interface and query software · in demand
  • Document management software · in demand
  • Electronic mail software · in demand
  • Medical software · in demand
  • Office suite software · in demand
  • Operating system software · in demand
  • Presentation software · in demand
  • Project management software · in demand
  • Spreadsheet software · in demand
  • Time accounting software · in demand
  • Word processing software · in demand

“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.

Personality fit

What personality type suits a Transplant Coordinator?

Interest profile

NueCareer estimate (Holland code SEC) built on O*NET's Registered Nurse profile, scored 1 to 7

Transplant Coordinator · Realistic: 3Transplant Coordinator · Investigative: 5Transplant Coordinator · Artistic: 1Transplant Coordinator · Social: 6Transplant Coordinator · Enterprising: 3Transplant Coordinator · Conventional: 5
Transplant Coordinator interest profile
AxisTransplant Coordinator
Realistic3
Investigative5
Artistic1
Social6
Enterprising3
Conventional5

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

What the work is built around

Day to day this is work built around teaching, helping and working directly with other people, combined with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data.

  • Social5.7
  • Conventional4.8
  • Investigative4.6
  • Realistic3.5
  • Enterprising3.3
  • Artistic1.3

Closest MBTI types

NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.

Questions

Transplant Coordinator: frequently asked questions

How much do Registered Nurses make?

BLS does not publish a separate wage for registered nurses. It counts them within registered nurse, whose median pay is $97,550 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $80,330 and $112,350, and the top 10% earn $137,470 or more.

Do you need a degree to become a Transplant Coordinator?

Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Registered Nurses, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as medium preparation. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 55.9% hold bachelor's degree.

Is Transplant Coordinator a growing career?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 5.6% over 2025–2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 180,800 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

What does a Transplant Coordinator do?

Clinical transplant coordinators work at hospital transplant programs for kidneys, livers, hearts, lungs, and other organs. A typical task: coordinate the medical evaluation of transplant candidates. Employers most often ask for Business intelligence and data analysis software, Data base user interface and query software, Document management software.

Which states pay Registered Nurses the most?

The highest state medians for Registered Nurses are California ($140,270), Hawaii ($136,320), Oregon ($129,010) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

What personality type suits a Transplant Coordinator?

O*NET scores Registered Nurses highest on the Social, Conventional and Investigative interest areas, so the work mixes teaching, helping and working directly with other people with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISFJ, ESFJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Research sources for this career