CPT code 50320: Donor nephrectomy, living donor, open approach2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 50320 in California.

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 50320 covers

This code represents open surgical removal of a kidney from a living donor for transplantation, with cold preservation included. A transplant surgeon or urologist typically performs the operation in a hospital operating room. It applies to procurement from a living donor, rather than removal from a deceased donor or laparoscopic procurement.

Report it for the donor’s operation, not the recipient’s transplant procedure. The operative report should identify the living-donor procurement, the kidney removed, and the approach. Separately performed backbench preparation or reconstruction may be reported with the applicable code when documented. The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.

Where 50320 pays more and less in California

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

29 of 29 payment localities

How the 50320 rate is calculated

Each of 50320’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.

Payment rules and modifiers for 50320

50320 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

50320 compared with similar codes

How to choose

50300Donor kidney removalDeceased donor

Choose 50320 for procurement from a living donor. Code 50300 describes procurement from a deceased donor.

50547Donor nephrectomyLaparoscopic procurement

Both codes concern living-donor kidney procurement. Choose 50320 for the open approach and 50547 for the laparoscopic approach.

50360Kidney transplantWithout recipient nephrectomy

Code 50320 reports kidney removal from the living donor; 50360 reports transplantation into the recipient without recipient nephrectomy.

Codes related to 50320

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

Where these rates come from

FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.

CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates