“Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.” – Proverbs 21:21
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Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decertified the nonprofit, Network for Hope, which is the federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) in Kentucky. The announcement came after a yearslong investigation revealed that Network for Hope had compromised patients’ safety and betrayed the trust of donors and their families.
Federal reviewers found that 30% of the Network for Hope cases had serious blunders. Findings from the investigation showed that Network for Hope performed poor neurological assessments, did not work with other necessary medical teams, had questionable consent practices, and misclassified causes of death.
Disturbingly, the investigation also revealed that in some cases, potential donors were not actually deceased when the donation procedure started. This specifically happened in Richmond, KY, to TJ Hoover in 2021. After an overdose, Hoover was taken to the hospital in cardiac arrest, where he remained unresponsive for a few days. Hoover then woke up on the operating table as they were preparing his body for the donation process, where, thankfully, the medical team saw signs of life and called off the procedure.
Hoover’s case led to a new Kentucky law passed earlier this year, HB 510, that went into effect in July and requires medical teams to halt the organ procurement process if a patient shows any signs of life. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will now have direct control of Kentucky’s Organ Donation Program until a new OPO is started.
LET US PRAY…
Father, we thank You for the work of the HHS to ensure that each deceased person’s body that goes through the donation process is treated with the utmost compassion and respect. Lord, may a new organ procurement organization be established here in Kentucky that can be trusted by donors and their families. Father, may there never be another horrifying situation like the one that happened to TJ Hoover ever again in our Commonwealth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.