HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston hospital has halted its liver and kidney transplant applications after discovering that a health care provider manipulated information for liver transplant candidates, in line with a media report.
“Inappropriate modifications … successfully inactivated the candidates on the liver transplant ready checklist,” Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Heart mentioned in a press release revealed Thursday within the Houston Chronicle. “Subsequently, these sufferers didn’t/weren’t in a position to obtain organ donation presents whereas inactive.”
The physician was not recognized, and the hospital didn’t reply to requests for remark by The Related Press.
The hospital stopped the liver transplant program April 3 after studying of “irregularities” with donor acceptance standards. An investigation discovered issues with info entered right into a database used to match donor organs with sufferers, however the hospital didn’t present particulars.
The “irregularities” had been restricted to liver transplants, the hospital mentioned, however kidney transplants had been halted as a result of the applications share the identical management.
The U.S. Division of Well being and Human Companies is conscious of the allegations, and an investigation is underway, in line with a press release from the company.
“We’re dedicated to defending affected person security and equitable entry to organ transplant providers for all sufferers,” the assertion mentioned. “HHS will pursue all acceptable enforcement and compliance actions … to guard the protection and integrity of the organ procurement and transplantation system.”
Memorial Hermann has seen an rising variety of liver transplant candidates die whereas on the wait checklist or grow to be too sick for a transplant in recent times, in line with information from the Organ Procurement Transplantation Community.
4 sufferers died or grew to become too in poor health for a transplant in 2021, 11 in 2022, 14 in 2023, and 5 to this point in 2024, in line with the info.
Memorial Hermann has not mentioned how lengthy the applications will stay shuttered.
The hospital mentioned it was working with sufferers and their households to get them care and is contacting the 38 sufferers on the liver program transplant checklist and 346 sufferers on the kidney transplant checklist.
Sufferers on the ready lists don’t obtain organ presents when the transplant program is halted, however they accumulate ready time, in line with the United Community for Organ Sharing. The sufferers may be on a number of transplant ready lists or switch their wait time to a different program, though every program has its personal standards for evaluating and accepting transplant candidates.
In Houston, Houston Methodist, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Heart and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Heart additionally provide transplant applications.
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