US moves to shut a Kentucky organ donation group, citing safety failures
Summary
The U.S. government announced plans to shut down a Kentucky organ donation group called Network for Hope due to safety problems. The group is accused of pushing organ removal from patients who were not fully dead, which caused national concern about organ donation practices.Key Facts
- Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called Network for Hope a “bad apple” because of ongoing safety issues.
- Network for Hope is one of about 55 organizations in the U.S. that handle organ recovery and matching for transplants.
- The group’s predecessor pressured a hospital in 2021 to remove organs from a man still showing signs of waking up; the man survived.
- Only doctors at hospitals can declare death; organ groups take over after that declaration.
- Network for Hope says it follows all federal rules and has added new safety checks allowing anyone to stop donation plans if there’s concern.
- Kentucky passed a law requiring a safety pause in organ donation planning; new federal rules are also being developed.
- Over 100,000 people are on the U.S. organ transplant list, mostly waiting for kidneys, and thousands die waiting.
- Last year set a record with over 49,000 transplants, despite a small drop in organ donations from deceased donors.
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