and 

 cover different items and services related to kidney transplants. 

Part A covers transplant services and pays part of the costs for these:

• Inpatient services in a Medicare-certified hospital
• Kidney registry fee
• Laboratory and other tests needed to evaluate your medical condition and the medical condition of potential kidney donors

• Finding the proper kidney for your transplant surgery (if there's no kidney donor)
• The full cost of care for your kidney donor (including care before surgery, the actual surgery, and care after surgery)
• Any additional inpatient hospital care for your donor in case of problems due to the surgery
• Blood (whole units of packed red blood cells, blood components, and the cost of processing and giving you blood)

Part B covers transplant services and pays part of the costs for these:

• Doctors' services for kidney transplant surgery (including care before surgery, the actual surgery, and care after surgery)
• Doctors' services for your kidney donor during their hospital stay
• Transplant drugs, also called immunosuppressive drugs (for a limited time after you leave the hospital following a transplant)
• Blood

Medicare will only pay for your transplant drug therapy for 36 months after the month of the kidney transplant if both of these apply:

• You're entitled to Medicare only because of permanent kidney failure.
• You have the pancreas transplant after the kidney transplant.

This is because your Medicare coverage will end 36 months after a successful kidney transplant if you only have Medicare due to permanent kidney failure.

Medicare will continue to pay for your transplant drugs (also called immunosuppressive drugs) with no time limit if either of these apply:

• You were already entitled to Medicare because of age or disability before you got
  End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)
  .
• You became eligible for Medicare because of age or disability after getting a transplant.