US to decertify organ procurement group over patient safety violations

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has begun the process of decertifying a multistate organ procurement organisation after a federal investigation found it prepared dozens of patients for organ recovery while they were still alive, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced.

Network for Hope is the second organ procurement organisation (OPO) targeted under the Trump administration after HHS shut down Miami-based Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency in September over mismanagement and safety concerns, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

"When an organization entrusted with the gift of life repeatedly puts patients at risk, the federal government has the duty to act, and that's why we're acting today," Kennedy said.

The investigation examined 351 cases between 2021 and 2024 in which organ donation had been authorised but was not completed. HHS made it clear that 73 patients showed "neurological signs incompatible with organ donation."

Among the cases was that of Kentucky resident T.J. Hoover, who was taken to the operating room for organ recovery in 2021 despite reportedly thrashing, crying and shaking his head. During a news conference, his sister, Donna Rhorer, stated that coordinators from Network for Hope pressured physicians to proceed with the surgery even after Hoover regained consciousness.

“He was thrashing, crying, and grabbing the doctor’s hands to stop him,” Rhorer said. “... My brother almost died that day. That should never happen to anyone.”

Network for Hope, which serves Kentucky and parts of Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia, rejected the decision and noted that it would appeal.

Chief Executive Barry Massa claimed that the group "strongly disagrees" with the HHS action, arguing that decertification would affect more than 3,000 people awaiting life-saving organ transplants across its four-state service area.

Organ procurement organisations, which hold regional monopolies over organ recovery, have faced increasing scrutiny in recent years over allegations of fraud and patient safety failures. The Justice Department launched a broad investigation into OPOs in multiple states in 2024, while HHS has pledged to overhaul the US organ transplant system.

Patient advocates welcomed the decision but argued broader reforms remain necessary, warning that an appeal by Network for Hope could delay efforts to replace the organisation.

"Patients across four states ... remain at risk everyday that Network for Hope is allowed to operate," said Jennifer Erickson, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov