Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans on Thursday to reform the nation's organ transplant system, including a move to decertify one organ procurement organization.
Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency in South Florida, one of 55 nonprofits nationwide with federal contracts to coordinate transplants, now faces decertification, a move that would effectively shut it down. Officials said the decision is intended as a warning to other groups to improve or risk the same outcome. The secretary said Life Alliance has "a long record of deficiencies directly tied to patient harm."
"Every American should feel safe becoming an organ donor and giving the gift of life, yet decades of ignored patient safety concerns have driven more and more Americans off the donor list," Kennedy said. "Today, under President Trump's leadership, we are taking bold action and historic action to restore trust in the organ procurement process."
"We are acting because of years of documented patient safety data failures and repeated violations of federal requirements, and we intend this decision to serve as a clear warning," Kennedy added.
HHS announced in July that it would begin reforming the country's organ transplant system after an investigation by the Health Resources and Services Administration found reports of unethical treatment of vulnerable patients.
"Unlike the Biden administration, which ignored these problems and failed to act, the Trump administration is setting a new standard that patient safety comes first," Kennedy said.
HHS's reforms to the organ transplant system include stricter safeguards, increased transparency, improved reporting mechanisms, and the removal of certain policy provisions, all aimed at restoring trust and ensuring fairness in organ allocation.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz added, "CMS has a clear responsibility to ensure that every organ procurement organization meets the federal standards of safety, performance, and accountability. For too long, patients and families have suffered from systemic failures."
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