HOUSTON — Organ transplant experts weighed in on a controversy at Memorial Hermann.
A prominent transplant doctor was accused in a New York Times report of manipulating records and effectively keeping patients from getting new livers.
Memorial Hermann shut down its transplant program a week ago after discovering irregularities.
On Thursday, the New York Times named Dr. Steve Bynon in a bombshell report.
Bynon, who works for UTHealth and contracts with Memorial Hermann, did an interview with us not too long ago about liver transplants.
That's the same type of procedure the Times investigation accuses him of blocking.
Memorial Hermann previously stated that it discovered a pattern of issues with donor acceptance criteria and found problems with information entered in a database created for patients waiting on liver transplants at the hospital.
However, any potential motive remains unclear.
We spoke with a transplant surgeon who did not speak specifically about this investigation.
He said affected patients are likely getting social and emotional support in what is already a stressful situation.
"While the medical team and logistics of the hospital are trying to get patients resituated," Dr. Vaughn Whittaker, a member of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, said. "They’ll be informed, letters will have to be sent out to them to inform them. Basically what’s going on.”
Whittaker, who works for the VA, said he cannot imagine why anyone might intentionally hold up or block transplants.
“As transplant centers and programs, we always want to have transplants accessible to our patients," said Whittaker. "And when you have to close a program for any reason, this may affect the access patients have to these life-saving organs.”
Again, all of this remains under investigation by both Memorial Hermann and federal authorities.
No criminal charges have been filed.
-Latest Memorial Hermann 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.
For questions related to specific physicians, please direct all inquiries to the UTHealth Houston media office.
-Latest UTHealth 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.