The organ recovery agency was found to have unsafe practices, was understaffed, and had poor training and paperwork errors.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is decertifying the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency, an organ procurement organization that is part of the University of Miami Health System. An investigation by the department found that the agency had conducted years of unsafe practices, was chronically understaffed, leading to mismanaged paperwork and errors in dozens of organ donor requests.
“In one 2024 case, a mistake led a surgeon to decline a donated heart for a patient awaiting transplant surgery,” a release from the agency said.
“An organ procurement organization must serve as the trusted custodian of every donated organ,” HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. said. “Its job is to honor the gift of life by ensuring trained professionals recover every organ safely, match it fairly, and deliver it quickly to the patient who needs it most. We will not allow any participant to cut corners with human life, and we hold every institution in the transplant system to the highest standards of safety and accountability.”
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said, “For too long, patients and families have suffered from systemic failures. We are enforcing rigorous standards and modernizing the system with better data, stronger oversight, and innovative tools to make organ procurement safer, fairer, and more effective for every American awaiting a transplant.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For wisdom for Secretary Kennedy as he responds to investigations and reviews of federally supported programs.
- For Administrator Oz to receive God’s guidance as he oversees the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Sources: UPI News, Department of Health and Human Services
