Canceled retrieval surgeries spurred nationwide spike in revoked organ donor registrations
The Trump administration said Wednesday it will move to decertify Network for Hope, a Kentucky organ procurement organization accused of continuing plans for organ retrieval from some patients who unexpectedly showed signs of life.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the nonprofit “a bad apple” and accused it of “persistent safety failures,” the Associated Press reported.
Network for Hope is one of about 55 organ procurement organizations, or OPOs, that coordinate the recovery of organs from deceased donors and help match them to patients on the nation’s transplant list.
The cases that prompted the move made headlines several years ago. While the retrieval surgeries were canceled in those instances, the episodes led to a spike in people across the country revoking their organ donor registrations, according to the AP.
In a statement, Network for Hope said it “strongly disagrees” with Kennedy’s decision and will appeal.