- What CTP Means Here (and What It Doesn't)
- Who Issues It and Who Administers the Exam
- Eligibility: The 12-Month Experience Rule
- Exam Format: 110 Questions, Two Hours
- The Five Exam Domains
- Fees and Retake Mechanics
- Reading the 52% Historical Pass Rate
- Sample Original Practice Question
- Sequencing Your Preparation
- Renewal and the Three-Year Cycle
- Career Value Without Assuming a Pay Premium
- Frequently Asked Questions
- CTP here means Certified Transplant Preservationist, awarded by the American Board for Transplant Certification (ABTC).
- The exam has 110 questions (100 scored, 10 unscored) with a two-hour limit at PSI test centers.
- Organ Recovery carries 30 of 100 scored items, the largest allocation, followed by Organ Preservation at 25.
- Cost is $645 per attempt ($495 exam plus $150 application), before any $225 international surcharge.
What CTP Means Here (and What It Doesn't)
The acronym "CTP" is shared by several unrelated credentials in different industries. On this site, CTP means exactly one thing: Certified Transplant Preservationist. It is a professional credential for people who work in organ preservation within the transplant field. It has nothing to do with treasury, payments, or any other certification that happens to abbreviate the same way, and it is also distinct from other examinations offered by the same certifying board.
If you landed here looking for a different credential, the details below (fees, domains, eligibility, renewal) will not apply to it. If you want the naming basics first, our short explainers on what CTP stands for and CTP meaning cover the terminology, while this article focuses on how the credential actually works.
In practical terms, a Certified Transplant Preservationist demonstrates verified knowledge across the chain of custody that follows an organ from recovery through preservation, specimen handling, and labeling and packaging for transport. The exam tests whether you understand that chain well enough to protect organ viability and documentation integrity.
Who Issues It and Who Administers the Exam
The credential is issued by the American Board for Transplant Certification (ABTC). ABTC sets the eligibility rules, defines the examination content outline, and manages recertification. The exam itself is delivered by PSI, a testing provider, at computer-based test centers. You may notice that applications and certification records reference the code ROC-P; that is an administrative label tied to the credential, not a separate exam.
Eligibility: The 12-Month Experience Rule
Eligibility is built around hands-on exposure. Candidates need 12 months of organ-preservation work experience. That experience does not have to be your full-time responsibility, which matters for people whose roles blend preservation with other duties such as coordination, surgical support, or laboratory work. A supervisor or employer must attest to the experience as part of the application.
Once approved, ABTC provides a 90-day examination-eligibility window. Here is a point worth slowing down on: public instructions are not consistent about when that 90-day clock starts. Different sources point to payment, application approval, or eligibility confirmation. Do not assume those triggers are interchangeable. Use the dates on your own authorization notice, and if anything looks inconsistent, contact ABTC or PSI directly before booking. Our guides on CTP requirements and CTP exam dates walk through scheduling logistics in more detail.
Exam Format: 110 Questions, Two Hours
The exam is a closed-book, computer-based test with these characteristics:
- 110 multiple-choice questions: 100 scored items plus 10 unscored pretest items
- Two-hour time limit for the full sitting
- Four answer options per question, with one best answer
- No calculators permitted
- Two forms of identification required at the test center
The unscored pretest items are indistinguishable from scored ones, so treat every question as if it counts. With roughly 110 questions in 120 minutes, you have a little over a minute per item, which favors candidates who recognize terminology and sequence quickly rather than those who reason from scratch on every question.
The 110-versus-120 question conflict
You may see a published figure of 120 questions in some places. PSI's public store listing for the Self-Assessment Examination still describes a 120-question certification exam, which conflicts with the current ABTC Candidate Handbook (file dated August 13, 2026). The handbook controls the live count, so plan around 110 questions. If you are comparing prep materials, treat any reference to 120 questions as potentially outdated rather than as a sign that the exam changed twice.
How passing is determined
Passing is based on your overall performance against an expert-established standard set by ABTC. There are no separate domain pass requirements, and there is no published fixed numeric passing mark that we can responsibly quote. For a deeper discussion, see our CTP passing score guide.
The Five Exam Domains
The ABTC examination content outline lists five domains. Summing the official recall, application, and analysis columns gives scored-item allocations of 15, 30, 25, 12, and 18 across the five domains, in that order. These are item counts, not issuer-published percentage weights, so think in terms of how many questions to expect rather than a percentage. Our full CTP exam domains guide goes deeper on each area.
| Domain | Scored Items | What It Emphasizes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Professional Practice | 15 | Standards, ethics, documentation, and role responsibilities |
| 2. Organ Recovery | 30 | Recovery process knowledge; the largest single allocation |
| 3. Organ Preservation | 25 | Preservation methods, solutions, and viability protection |
| 4. Specimen Collection | 12 | Collecting and handling specimens that accompany an organ |
| 5. Organ Labeling and Packaging for Transport | 18 | Labeling accuracy, packaging integrity, and transport readiness |
Domain 2: Organ Recovery (30 scored items)
The heaviest domain. Expect questions that test whether you understand the recovery process and your role within it, from the standpoint of exam knowledge rather than operating-room instruction.
- Sequence and timing concepts in recovery
- Asepsis principles and why they protect the organ and recipient
- Documentation connected to recovery events
Domain 3: Organ Preservation (25 scored items)
The second-largest block and the conceptual core of the credential. Together with recovery, Domains 2 and 3 account for 55 of the 100 scored items.
- Preservation approaches and the reasoning behind them
- Factors that affect organ viability over time
- Monitoring and recognizing problems
Domains 1, 4, and 5
Smaller in item count but easy to underestimate.
- Professional Practice (15): accountability, ethics, and documentation habits that candidates often skim
- Specimen Collection (12): the smallest domain, but specimen errors can have downstream consequences, so questions tend to be precise
- Labeling and Packaging for Transport (18): detail-oriented questions about identification, containment, and handoff
Fees and Retake Mechanics
Budget for the full per-attempt cost, not just the exam fee:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Examination fee | $495 |
| Application fee | $150 |
| Total per attempt | $645 |
| International administration surcharge (if applicable) | $225 |
Fees are nonrefundable and apply again if you have to reapply. After an unsuccessful attempt, a 90-day interval is required before retaking. After three unsuccessful attempts, you must earn 20 Category 1 CEPTCs before you can reapply. That makes your first attempt financially and logistically significant. Our CTP certification cost breakdown covers the full pricing picture, including renewal.
Reading the 52% Historical Pass Rate
ABTC's March 2025 statistical report records a 52% pass rate for 2024 among 86 candidates. Handle that number carefully:
- It is a historical figure from 2024, not a 2026 rate
- It is not a passing score; you do not need 52% of questions correct
- It is not documented as first-attempt-only, so it may blend repeat testers with first-time candidates
- With 86 candidates, the sample is small enough that year-to-year swings are plausible
The fair takeaway is that the exam is a genuine gatekeeper rather than a formality, since roughly half of that year's candidates did not pass. It does not tell you your own odds. For more context, read our CTP pass rate analysis and difficulty guide.
Sample Original Practice Question
The question below is original and written for study purposes. It is not a real exam item.
A. Proceed with transport and reconcile the discrepancy after delivery
B. Correct the label by hand to match the paperwork and continue
C. Stop and resolve the discrepancy through the proper verification and notification channels before the container leaves
D. Ask the receiving center to resolve it on arrival
Best answer: C. Identification mismatches must be resolved before transport, using established verification and communication channels. Informal fixes or deferring the problem downstream risks a labeling error reaching the recipient center.
Notice the pattern: the right answer prioritizes verification and documentation integrity over speed. That reasoning style recurs across all five domains. For a deeper bank of this style, try the CTP Exam Prep practice test.
Sequencing Your Preparation
Rather than generic study scheduling, sequence by domain weight and by how topics build on each other. The timeline below is a suggested order, not a mandated plan.
Organ Recovery (30 items)
- Learn the process flow and terminology first, since everything else references it
- Include asepsis principles, which recur across domains
Organ Preservation (25 items)
- Build directly on recovery concepts
- Focus on the why behind each method, not only the what
Specimen Collection and Labeling/Packaging (30 items combined)
- Memorize identification and containment details
- Practice precision-style questions
Professional Practice and timed review
- Cover documentation and ethics
- Take a timed run at roughly 110 questions in two hours
Our CTP study guide expands on this approach, and the CTP cheat sheet works well as a final-week refresher.
Practice products and their caveats
PSI's public store lists an official $60, 30-question Self-Assessment Examination with 60-day access and one scored attempt. We reviewed only the public listing, not the paid question bank, so we cannot vouch for its content. Because it is short and single-attempt, consider saving it for a mid-to-late preparation checkpoint rather than using it as your first diagnostic.
Renewal and the Three-Year Cycle
Certification is valid for three years. To renew, you have two paths:
- Continuing education: earn 60 CEPTCs, including at least 20 Category 1 and 10 Category 2 points
- Re-examination: pass the exam again
The single-certification renewal fee is $395. Because CEPTCs accumulate over three years, it makes sense to log qualifying activities as you go rather than scrambling near expiration. Check ABTC's recertification pages for the current category definitions before relying on any particular activity.
Career Value Without Assuming a Pay Premium
Who benefits from the credential? People who work in organ preservation within the transplant ecosystem, including organ procurement and preservation roles, are the natural audience. Whether certification changes your pay is a separate question, and we do not assume a salary premium. Compensation depends on employer, region, and role, and no certification-specific pay boost is established here. If you are weighing the investment, our ROI analysis and salary guide frame the decision qualitatively, and our CTP jobs overview describes where the credential tends to be relevant.
Key Takeaway
Treat the credential as a verified-competence signal first and a possible career lever second. Ask your employer whether certification is valued, supported, or reimbursed before you pay the $645 per-attempt cost yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
It stands for Certified Transplant Preservationist, a credential from the American Board for Transplant Certification (ABTC). It is unrelated to other credentials that share the abbreviation.
The current ABTC handbook specifies 110 multiple-choice questions, of which 100 are scored and 10 are unscored pretest items, in a two-hour sitting. Some public listings still mention 120 questions, but the handbook controls.
ABTC does not publish a fixed numeric passing mark. Passing reflects overall performance against an expert-established standard, not separate domain minimums and not the 52% historical pass rate.
A single attempt is $645: a $495 examination fee plus a $150 application fee. International candidates may owe an additional $225 surcharge. Fees are nonrefundable and apply again on reapplication.
You must wait 90 days before retaking. After three unsuccessful attempts, you need 20 Category 1 CEPTCs before you can reapply.
Three years. Renewal requires 60 CEPTCs, including at least 20 Category 1 and 10 Category 2, or successful re-examination. The single-certification renewal fee is $395.
Want a fuller picture of the credential itself? Our overview of what CTP certification is and our CTP training guide are good next reads, and you can test your readiness anytime on the CTP Exam Prep home page.