HOUSTON — UTHealth and Memorial Hermann both released statements Friday after a New York Times report accused a Houston doctor of manipulating a national transplant database to make his patients ineligible for potentially life-saving donations.
The accusations come days after KHOU 11 reported that both the liver and kidney transplant programs at Memorial Hermann Hospital were put on hold.
The Times report identified the man as Dr. Steve Bynon and said he was secretly making changes to the national transplant database to exclude his own patients from receiving new livers. The report didn’t give a reason.
According to Memorial Hermann's website, Bynon moved to UTHealth in Houston in 2011 to serve as the director of the Division of Immunology and Solid Organ Transplantation. It also says he is affiliated with Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.
UTHealth's statement said, in part, that the university is proud Bynon's accomplishments and touted his transplant surgery survival rates. Read the full statement:
"Dr. Steve Bynon is an exceptionally talented and caring physician, and a pioneer in abdominal organ transplantation. According to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Bynon’s survival rates and surgical outcomes are among the best in the nation, even while treating patients with higher-than-average acuity and disease complexity. UTHealth Houston is proud of the many contributions Dr. Bynon and his team have made to our university, our academic and clinical transplant programs, and to the field of transplant medicine. Our faculty and staff members, including Dr. Bynon, are assisting with the inquiry into Memorial Hermann’s liver transplant program and are committed to addressing and resolving any findings identified by this process."
Memorial Hermann's statement said, in part, that the hospital's "primary priority is ensuring continuity of compassionate care for patients who were on the transplant program lists at the hospital." Read the full statement:
"Over the past two weeks, we have been actively working with all impacted patients, families and caregivers from the liver and the kidney transplant programs, following the difficult decision to voluntarily inactivate both programs. Our primary priority is ensuring continuity of compassionate care for patients who were on the transplant program lists at the hospital.
"Each patient is being individually contacted by a transplant care coordinator to review ongoing care options, including a seamless transition to another transplant program, where necessary.
"We are working with University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston to make the necessary changes that will allow for the quick reactivation of the kidney transplant program under a different physician leadership structure. All program transplant physicians are employed by the University of (Texas) Health Science Center at Houston and contracted to Memorial Hermann to provide physician services.
Our investigation is ongoing, and we continue to cooperate with all regulatory authorities."
KHOU 11 reported on April 5 that Memorial Hermann was putting a pause on its liver donation program, citing a “pattern of irregularities” with donor acceptance criteria. That criteria included patients’ weight and age. They said that the liver transplant program was the only one within the hospital that was affected.
Reporter Matt Dougherty spoke with Brian Rosenthal, one of the authors of the New York Times article. You can watch his report below.
Then on Tuesday, the hospital said they were stopping their kidney donation program as well because of the programs’ leadership structure.
The New York Times pulled federal data that showed Memorial Hermann has one of the smallest liver transplant programs in the state. According to their report, only 29 liver transplants were performed last year.
Memorial Hermann officials said they are working with families and patients impacted by the stoppage. They also said their investigation is ongoing and they are cooperating with regulatory agencies.
As far as we know, no criminal charges have been filed.
RELATED: Days after putting pause on liver donation program, Memorial Hermann halts kidney program, too
Statements sent to KHOU 11 during our reporting of this story
Statement from Memorial Hermann received Friday, April 4, 2024
"Memorial Hermann is dedicated to the health and well-being of every person we serve and takes seriously our commitment to patient safety. We were recently made aware of a pattern of irregularities with donor acceptance criteria within the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) transplant information database for patients awaiting a liver transplant at Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center. “Donor acceptance criteria” refers to factors such as the age and weight of deceased donors whose livers are being made available for transplant. These irregularities are limited to the liver transplant program. No other transplant program at Memorial Hermann is impacted. Upon notification of the irregularities, we immediately began an investigation, and we chose to voluntarily inactivate our liver transplant program. The voluntary inactivation of the liver transplant program does not impact any other transplant program at Memorial Hermann.
Memorial Hermann’s investigation is continuing, and we are cooperating fully with all regulatory oversight agencies. We are also working with all impacted patients and families individually to ensure that they have the care and support that they need."
Statement from Department of Health & Human Services received Tuesday, April 9, 2024
“At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we acknowledge the severity of this allegation. We are working across the Department to address this matter now. We are committed to protecting patient safety and equitable access to organ transplant services for all patients. We are working diligently to address this issue with the attention it deserves, including work at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) through the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) – which are deploying on site to investigate. Working with our federal and state partners, HHS will pursue all appropriate enforcement and compliance actions to the fullest extent available under relevant regulations and policies to protect the safety and integrity of the organ procurement and transplantation system.”
Statement from Houston Methodist received Tuesday, April 9, 2024
"Houston Methodist has one of the largest transplant programs in the country and has the capacity to accommodate additional patients needing liver and kidney transplants. We are committed to help in any way we can to be sure those listed for transplant get the proper care and support they need at this time.
"Houston Methodist has 1,244 kidney transplant patients on our list now and we are committed to providing a smooth transition for additional patients in the process of getting a living donor kidney. We also have received a few calls from liver patients and we are actively working to get them into the program now."
Statement from UTHealth Houston received Friday, April 12, 2024
"Dr. Steve Bynon is an exceptionally talented and caring physician, and a pioneer in abdominal organ transplantation. According to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Bynon’s survival rates and surgical outcomes are among the best in the nation, even while treating patients with higher-than-average acuity and disease complexity. UTHealth Houston is proud of the many contributions Dr. Bynon and his team have made to our university, our academic and clinical transplant programs, and to the field of transplant medicine. Our faculty and staff members, including Dr. Bynon, are assisting with the inquiry into Memorial Hermann’s liver transplant program and are committed to addressing and resolving any findings identified by this process."
Statement from Memorial Hermann received Friday, April 12, 2024
"Over the past two weeks, we have been actively working with all impacted patients, families and caregivers from the liver and the kidney transplant programs, following the difficult decision to voluntarily inactivate both programs. Our primary priority is ensuring continuity of compassionate care for patients who were on the transplant program lists at the hospital.
"Each patient is being individually contacted by a transplant care coordinator to review ongoing care options, including a seamless transition to another transplant program, where necessary.
"We are working with University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston to make the necessary changes that will allow for the quick reactivation of the kidney transplant program under a different physician leadership structure.
"Our investigation is ongoing, and we continue to cooperate with all regulatory authorities."