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Fox News
6 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
WATCH: Lawmaker shares personal experience as Congress weighs organ donation reforms
House Energy and Commerce Chairman Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., spoke to Fox News Digital on Tuesday about how his personal experience with organ transplantation has shaped his view of the system, which he said must ensure families are confident in it so they will not be afraid to donate much-needed organs. On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight held a hearing with Dr. Raymond Lynch, the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) chief of the organ transplant branch. Leaders of the Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) and the nonprofit organ sharing network that serves Kentucky, southwest Ohio and parts of West Virginia were also present. The investigation follows a shocking HRSA investigation that found hospitals and OPOs in Kentucky were allowing organ procurement processes to begin despite patients showing signs of life. The investigation ultimately found that since December 2024, out of 351 cases involving patients who had been authorized for organ procurement, but the organs were ultimately not recovered, 29% showed neurological signs not conducive to organ procurement. "My big concern is people will not – if they don't have confidence in the system – won't feel like they'll register as an organ donor," Guthrie said between panels at Tuesday's hearing. "People need to have confidence in the system, or at least know the questions to ask if they're in this end stage with their loved one," Guthrie continued. "Because when you're sitting there, and you're getting prepped to go get your next – hopefully, chance at life – you also, as you sit there, know that there's some other family in some other emergency room somewhere else having a different experience. And they are losing a loved one, but they're willing – the loved one, either pre-designated or they're willing to let their loved one live on by helping somebody else live." Guthrie's experience stems from his mother, who died waiting on a new liver. He recounted how she was, at one point, told they had found her a new liver, but when the surgeon went to go pick up the new organ, it was not in the adequate shape to be transplanted. Despite assurances that she was high on the list, Guthrie's mother never found an organ in time before declining so fast that neither the congressman nor any of his relatives could attempt a live-organ transplant procedure. The live procedure allows a living person to donate a part of their organ, which will later grow back but can help repair the damaged organ in the person receiving the partial transplant. Guthrie said that despite the alarming evidence uncovered by HRSA's investigation, he still intends to keep his donor status, adding "we need more people to donate." Currently, around 100,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant. While the HRSA investigation probed multiple cases, it highlighted one shocking case in particular where staff were so uncomfortable with commencing the organ procurement process as a result of visible signs of life that some refused to participate. At that point, after staff had witnessed tears rolling down the patient's face, the process eventually stopped, but not after the patient sat in the operating room getting prepped for organ donation for around 45 minutes. "This should never have gotten to the point of them being in the operating room," Guthrie said of the case. "There were a lot of indications this person was not going to die." Guthrie added that the issue is a bipartisan one and said the work will be done when confidence in the system has been shored up.
South China Morning Post
22-07-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
US begins organ-transplant reform as ‘signs of life' found before some retrievals
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched a reform of the organ-transplant system and threatened to close a major procurement body after a probe found premature attempts to start organ retrieval while patients showed signs of life. The investigation conducted by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a division of HHS, examined 351 cases where organ donation was authorised but not completed. It found 73 patients had shown neurological signs incompatible with organ donation and at least 28 patients may not have been deceased at the time organ procurement was initiated, the HHS said in a statement on Monday. The probe also found evidence of poor neurologic assessments, questionable consent practices, and misclassification of causes of death in several cases, the agency said.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
US begins organ-transplant reform as 'signs of life' found before some retrievals
(Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched a reform of the organ-transplant system and threatened to close a major procurement body, after a probe found premature attempts to start organ retrieval while patients showed signs of life. The investigation conducted by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a division of HHS, examined 351 cases where organ donation was authorized but not completed. It found 73 patients had shown neurological signs incompatible with organ donation and at least 28 patients may not have been deceased at the time organ procurement was initiated, the HHS said in a statement on Monday. The probe also found evidence of poor neurologic assessments, questionable consent practices, and misclassification of causes of death in several cases, the agency said. The HHS has directed the national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) to report to regulators data concerning safety-related stoppages of organ donation called for by families, hospitals, or staff at organ procurement organizations. The HRSA has also said it would decertify Network for Hope - a federally funded organ procurement organization (OPO) that serves states including Kentucky, southwest Ohio, and part of West Virginia - if it does not comply with certain corrective actions. "Network for Hope looks forward to working collaboratively with HHS and HRSA and encourages the development of policies that support the betterment of the organ transplant system as a whole," CEO Barry Massa told Reuters in an email. The mandated actions include a root cause analysis of its failure to follow internal protocols and to develop policies to define donor eligibility criteria. It has also instructed the OPO to adopt a formal procedure allowing any staff member to halt a donation process in case of patient safety concerns. OPOs are not-for-profit organizations responsible for recovering organs from deceased donors for transplantation. The announcement comes after the New York Times on Sunday reported on premature attempts to remove organs from patients who exhibit signs of life. Solve the daily Crossword
Reuters
21-07-2025
- Health
- Reuters
US begins organ-transplant reform as 'signs of life' found before some retrievals
July 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched a reform of the organ-transplant system and threatened to close a major procurement body, after a probe found premature attempts to start organ retrieval while patients showed signs of life. The investigation conducted by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a division of HHS, examined 351 cases where organ donation was authorized but not completed. It found 73 patients had shown neurological signs incompatible with organ donation and at least 28 patients may not have been deceased at the time organ procurement was initiated, the HHS said in a statement on Monday. The probe also found evidence of poor neurologic assessments, questionable consent practices, and misclassification of causes of death in several cases, the agency said. The HHS has directed the national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) to report to regulators data concerning safety-related stoppages of organ donation called for by families, hospitals, or staff at organ procurement organizations. The HRSA has also said it would decertify Network for Hope - a federally funded organ procurement organization (OPO) that serves states including Kentucky, southwest Ohio, and part of West Virginia - if it does not comply with certain corrective actions. "Network for Hope looks forward to working collaboratively with HHS and HRSA and encourages the development of policies that support the betterment of the organ transplant system as a whole," CEO Barry Massa told Reuters in an email. The mandated actions include a root cause analysis of its failure to follow internal protocols and to develop policies to define donor eligibility criteria. It has also instructed the OPO to adopt a formal procedure allowing any staff member to halt a donation process in case of patient safety concerns. OPOs are not-for-profit organizations responsible for recovering organs from deceased donors for transplantation. The announcement comes after the New York Times on Sunday reported on premature attempts to remove organs from patients who exhibit signs of life.
Fox News
21-07-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Organ donors' lives endangered by rushed transplant procedures, investigation finds
As a new report claims that premature organ transplants have endangered donors, HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced plans for a new initiative to reform the system. Several families have stated that surgeons attempted to initiate organ retrievals while patients were still alive or improving, as noted in a July 20 report from The New York Times. Amid a growing push for increased transplants, "a growing number of patients have endured premature or bungled attempts to retrieve their organs," according to the report, which painted a picture of "rushed decision-making" and organ demand taking priority over donor safety. In a recent investigation by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), there were more than 70 canceled organ removals in Kentucky alone "that should have been stopped sooner" because the patients showed signs of revival, the report stated. The problem appears to be linked to an increase in "donation after circulatory death," which is when the patient has not been declared "brain dead" but is critically ill or injured. In that case, life support is withdrawn and organs are harvested within a couple of hours after the heart stops naturally. The Times report indicated that 55 medical workers in 19 states reported witnessing "at least one disturbing case of donation after circulatory death" — some even claiming that providers had administered drugs to "hasten the death" of donors. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a statement on Monday announcing an initiative to reform the organ transplant system. The push follows the HRSA's investigation, which reportedly revealed "disturbing practices by a major organ procurement organization." "The entire system must be fixed to ensure that every potential donor's life is treated with the sanctity it deserves." Secretary Kennedy said the investigation revealed that hospitals allowed the organ procurement process to begin "when patients showed signs of life." "This is horrifying," Kennedy said in a statement. "The organ procurement organizations that coordinate access to transplants will be held accountable. The entire system must be fixed to ensure that every potential donor's life is treated with the sanctity it deserves." Under this investigation, HRSA reviewed organ procurement organizations' "conduct and treatment of vulnerable patients." "HRSA's independent investigation revealed clear negligence after the previous [Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network] OPTN board of directors claimed to find no major concerns in their internal review," the HHS noted. HRSA examined 351 cases where organ donation was authorized but not ultimately completed, the agency indicated. Of these, 103 cases, or over 29%, showed "concerning features," including 73 patients who had neurological signs "incompatible" with organ donation. The investigation also discovered that at least 28 patients may not have been deceased at the time of organ procurement. The HHS said this raises "serious ethical and legal questions." "Evidence pointed to poor neurologic assessments, lack of coordination with medical teams, questionable consent practices and misclassification of causes of death, particularly in overdose cases," the agency said. As part of the reform, organ procurement organizations will be required to follow "strict corrective actions" and make "system-level changes" to safeguard potential donors. Dr. Maureen McBride, CEO of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), responded to The New York Times report in an online statement, calling the patient situations "horrific." "This falls far below the standard that the American organ donation and transplant system — the global gold standard — demands, and it cannot be tolerated," she said. "This sharply underscores the need for a more unified and accountable structure for overseeing the nation's organ donation and transplant system." There are currently more than 103,000 men, women and children on the national transplant waiting list. There is currently "fragmented oversight" of the organ transplant system — shared by the HRSA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) — which has led to "confusion and inconsistent accountability," according to McBride. To ensure a "safe, effective and trustworthy" system, she called for consolidated oversight and an improved patient-safety reporting system. The federal government "remains ultimately accountable for oversight of the system," McBride noted. "UNOS will continue to advocate for reforms to improve the system, and we look forward to sharing our proposed reforms with Congress this week and making meaningful progress in partnership with the federal government to strengthen the system," she added. For more Health articles, visit There are currently more than 103,000 men, women and children on the national transplant waiting list, HRSA said. Each day, 13 people die while waiting for an organ transplant.
