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Federal health officials have started investigating a Memorial Hermann doctor who has allegedly manipulated a database for liver transplant patients, making them ineligible to receive a new organ.
Meanwhile, Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center confirmed the matter in a statement Friday as their ongoing investigation found the doctor’s manipulation initially.
Memorial Hermann in Houston this week also suspended its liver and kidney transplant programs after noticing the issue, reports ABC News.com.
However, Memorial Hermann’s statement didn’t disclose the doctor’s name, but the University of Texas Health Science Center in a statement defended Dr. Steve Bynon.
Dr Bynon, who is an employee of UTHealth Houston, is contracted to Memorial Hermann.
Faculty and staff of UTHealth are also assisting with the inquiry into the liver transplant program of Memorial Hermann.
Memorial Hermann said a doctor made changes to the donor acceptance criteria– age and weight of the deceased donors.
Only the liver transplant program was affected by the inappropriate changes, according to the hospital.
They inactivated both as there is shared leadership over both the liver and kidney transplant programs.
In a statement, Memorial Hermann said on Thursday that a doctor in the liver transplant program admitted to changing patient records, reports the New York Times. The doctor was identified as Bynon.
The US Department of Health and Human Services said that they started working across the department to address this matter.
The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) denied making any comment on any ongoing review of a member organization.
According to the data of OPTN, four patients died or became too ill for a transplant in 2021 while 11 patients in 2022, 14 in 2023, and five so far this year.