Summary & Overview
CPT 33930: Donor Heart and Lung Procurement (Cardiectomy and Pneumonectomy)
CPT code 33930 represents the surgical removal and preservation of a donor heart (cardiectomy) and donor lungs (pneumonectomy) for subsequent transplantation. This code captures a critical step in the organ transplantation pathway, enabling timely procurement and preservation of thoracic organs for recipients on transplant waiting lists. Nationally, accurate coding of donor procurement procedures affects organ allocation logistics, transplant center workflows, and transplant-related billing and reporting.
Key payers commonly included in analyses of transplant and procurement billing are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Coverage policies and prior authorization practices for organ procurement services vary across these payers and influence hospital transplant program operations and reimbursement processes.
Readers will find a concise explanation of the clinical service this code represents, the typical site of service, and the role this procedure plays in transplantation workflows. The publication also summarizes payer coverage context, common modifiers used with transplant and procurement procedures, and practical benchmarks and policy updates relevant to transplant program administrators and coding professionals.
Data not available in the input: associated taxonomies, ICD-10 diagnoses, related codes, and detailed payer-specific policy language.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 33930 describes a surgical procedure in which a provider performs a cardiectomy to remove a donor heart and a pneumonectomy to remove donor lungs, then preserves the organs in cold storage for later transplantation into a recipient. The procedure is performed on a living or deceased donor as part of organ procurement for transplant.
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Service type: Surgical organ procurement (donor cardiectomy and pneumonectomy)
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Typical site of service: Operating room or dedicated organ procurement setting with immediate cold storage and transport capabilities
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A deceased organ donor is brought to the operating room after brain death declaration and family consent for organ donation. The surgical team performs a coordinated multi-organ procurement operation. The primary objectives include a cardiectomy (33930) to remove the donor heart and a pneumonectomy to remove donor lungs, followed by rapid preservation of the organs in cold storage for transport to transplant centers. The workflow includes donor evaluation (blood typing, infectious disease testing, crossmatch coordination), operative planning with transplant centers, induction of anesthesia for the donor, median sternotomy (and thoracotomy if needed) for exposure, systemic heparinization, aortic cross-clamping or simultaneous organ perfusion techniques, cardiac explantation with preservation of great vessels for the recipient, lung explantation with inflation/flush techniques, packaging of organs in sterile cold preservation solution, and transfer to transport teams. Documentation includes donor identifiers, time of cross-clamp, ischemia times, organ preservation solutions used, receiving institutions, and relevant consent/authorization logs. Typical site of service is an inpatient operating room within a hospital with transplant capabilities or a designated donor operating suite coordinated by an organ procurement organization. Typical patient scenario: an adult donor after catastrophic anoxic brain injury with family authorization for heart and lung donation; the transplant surgical team from receiving centers are present or on-call to accept organs, and the procurement surgeon performs 33930 during a multi-organ recovery procedure.
Coding Specifications
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