Federal health officials seek to dismantle a significant organ donation organization as part of ongoing efforts to overhaul the country's transplant system.
In a bid to enhance safety and efficiency in the organ donation system, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a series of measures aimed at reforming the organ transplant system.
The Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency, serving 7 million people across six counties in South Florida and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, has come under scrutiny. HHS has found the agency, which is a division of the University of Miami Health System, to have unsafe practices, staffing shortages, and paperwork errors. As a result, HHS is moving to decertify the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency.
The investigation, carried out by the Health Resources and Services Administration, also uncovered concerning issues at Network for Hope, another organ procurement organisation. Problems with dozens of transplant cases involving incomplete donations were found, as well as failures to follow professional best practices and to respect family wishes.
This move is not isolated. HHS is also planning to decertify the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which means it will be removed from the network of organ donation groups in the United States. These actions are part of an ongoing initiative to reform the organ transplant system.
The need for reform is urgent. Approximately 13 people in the United States die every day waiting for a transplant, and each year in the United States, more than 28,000 donated organs go unused due to inefficiencies in the system.
To address these issues, HHS plans to direct organ procurement organisations to appoint full-time patient safety officers to monitor safety practices. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the move a "clear warning" to other organ procurement organizations.
Public trust of the organ donation system is essential due to its reliance on volunteer donors. The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) pledged to continue supporting the team at Life Alliance to ensure organ donation and transplantation services continue.
The HHS initiative follows July's announcement that it intended to fix the nation's organ donation system, directing the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to improve safeguards and monitoring at the national level. In 2021, there were over 48,000 transplants in the US, but more than 103,000 people were on waiting lists.
The reforms come as more action against noncompliance with Medicare requirements may be coming. Organ transplant programs are certified under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. As of 2022, approximately 170 million people in the US have signed up to donate their organs.
These developments highlight the importance of maintaining high standards in the organ donation system and the ongoing efforts to ensure the system serves the needs of those waiting for a life-saving transplant.
