Thursday, 6 August 2026, 15:39
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has stripped federal designation from Network for Hope, an organ procurement organization serving Kentucky and parts of Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia. The decision follows a review that found repeated patient safety failures despite warnings and corrective action plans.
Kennedy announced the decertification Wednesday during a news conference in Kentucky. He said federal reviewers found "serious deficiencies" in nearly 30% of the cases they examined.
According to Kennedy, some patients were placed on the organ donation pathway when they should never have been there. In other cases, the donation process continued even though signs showed the patients were not appropriate organ donors.
"We found repeated failures in clinical judgment, oversight, and patient safety," Kennedy said. "And we found that these problems continued even after the organization promised to correct them. These failures had real consequences."
HHS said Network for Hope had been given repeated oversight, warnings, corrective action plans, and multiple opportunities to improve before the federal government intervened.
Kennedy described Network for Hope as a "bad apple" that forced federal intervention. The organization held the federal designation to serve organ procurement in Kentucky and parts of Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia.
Organ procurement organizations manage the recovery of organs from deceased donors. They are federally designated and must meet strict standards. Losing that designation is one of the most severe actions HHS can take.
Although Network for Hope operates outside California, the decision resonates nationally. More than 103,000 Americans are currently on the waiting list for lifesaving transplants. That list includes people in California.
The action shows that federal oversight of organ donation organizations is active. For California residents who have registered as organ donors, the decertification reinforces that safety and ethics are central to the system.
Organ procurement organizations hold regional federal contracts to recover organs for transplant. When an organization fails to meet patient safety standards, HHS can step in. Full decertification is rare and usually follows a long pattern of problems.
HHS's decision sends a clear message: patient safety comes before an organization's status. For donors, recipients, and families, the action is a reminder that the organ donation system is built on trust and oversight. Californians who want to help can continue to register as donors and stay informed about how their local organ procurement system performs.
