Federal Moves to Decertify Kentucky Organ Procurement Group
The federal government has begun the process of decertifying Network for Hope, which coordinates organ donations, following allegations that its predecessor continued preparing for organ retrieval after some patients showed signs of life. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described the organizationas having persistent safety failures.
Network for Hope is one of roughly 55 organ procurement organizations. These groups coordinate organ recovery after physicians declare a donor dead, identify recipients, and arrange retrieval teams. Procurement organizations do not determine death, which remains the responsibility of doctors. Most organs come from patients declared brain-dead, although donation can also occur after families choose to withdraw life support.
An allegation involves a 2021 case in which the organization’s predecessor pressed a hospital to proceed with withdrawing life support and planning organ recovery from a man who appeared to be waking after a drug overdose. The procedure was canceled, and the man survived. Reports drew attention and contributed to an increase in people removing themselves from donor registries.
Network for Hope disputes the federal decision, says it follows all applicable policies, and plans to appeal. The group also says it introduced a safeguard allowing medical staff, relatives, or others involved to pause donation planning whenever concerns arise. Kentucky has since enacted a law requiring such a pause, while the national transplant network is considering similar standards for all procurement organizations.
The dispute comes amid continuing demand for donated organs. More than 100,000 people remain on the national transplant waiting list, most of them seeking kidneys. More than 49,000 transplants were performed last year, setting a record, even as deceased-donor donations declined slightly for the first time in a decade. Federal officials say oversight is necessary to protect patients and maintain confidence in the donation system.
