An investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) uncovered problems with a federally funded organization that procures organs, including the authorization of organ donation from patients still showing signs of life, the agency said on July 21.
The Health Resources and Services Administration, part of HHS, investigated the organization’s conduct and found “clear negligence,” HHS said in a statement.
The agency reviewed 351 cases where organ donation was authorized but ultimately not completed and found that in 103 cases, patients showed neurological signs such as pain or had no cardiac time of death marked down when procurement was started.
“Our findings show that hospitals allowed the organ procurement process to begin when patients showed signs of life, and this is horrifying,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in the statement….