Officials are investigating allegations that a Houston surgeon was secretly altering patient information in a government database to make some of his own patients ineligible for transplants at Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center.
The hospital announced last week that it is suspending its liver-transplant program while federal regulators investigated irregularities pertaining to “donor acceptance criteria,” the Houston Chronicle reported.
This week, Memorial Hermann also suspended its kidney-transplant program. And on Thursday, the New York Times reported that federal health officials are investigating a Memorial Hermann doctor who is suspected of manipulating patient information to deny them liver transplants.
The Times identified the surgeon as Dr. J. Steve Bynon Jr., a nationally-regarded transplant surgeon at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston.
Bynon has led both the hospital’s kidney and liver transplant programs since 2011. Memorial Hermann released a statement Friday defending the doctor. Bynon did not return a message left at his office by the Houston Landing.
Here’s what we know about the investigation and how many people have been impacted:
What do we know about Dr. Steve Bynon Jr.?
Dr. Bynon, 64, gained national prominence as a leader in liver transplant surgery and served on the Membership and Professional Standards Committee of the United Network for Organ Sharing. The organization is tasked with investigating wrongdoing in the transplant system.
According to a statement Memorial Hermann provided to the Times, Bynon has both the liver and kidney transplant programs at the hospital since 2011.
Why we reported this story
- Memorial Hermann suspended its liver transplant program last week after “irregularities” in donor information surfaced.
- On Tuesday, the hospital announced suspension of its kidney transplant program as well.
- Authorities are investigating Dr. J. Steve Bynon Jr., a nationally-regarded organ transplant surgeon at the hospital, following allegations he secretly altered the liver transplant database, resulting in increased transplant denials for his patients.
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What are officials investigating at Memorial Hermann’s transplant programs?
A complaint prompted Memorial Hermann officials to open an investigation into Dr. Bynon and the hospital’s liver transplant program. The investigation revealed “irregularities” in patients’ classifications on the transplant wait list.
Hospital officials told the Times they discovered some patients’ criteria for accepting donors made them effectively ineligible for a transplant. For example, a patient might be listed as accepting a donation from a 300-pound toddler, eliminating their chances of receiving a transplant, per the Times.
Memorial Hermann suspended both programs, citing “irregularities” in donor transplant information for the liver program. The hospital told the Times it does not know how long Dr. Bynon may have been altering the database. Officials said the irregularities only affected liver transplant patients, but suspended kidney transplants because Dr. Bynon ran both programs.
How many patients were denied transplants at Memorial Hermann?
Thirty-eight patients remained on Memorial Hermann’s liver transplant waiting list and 346 patients on its kidney list when it shut down, according to the Times.
Patients on Memorial Hermann’s liver transplant waitlist have died at disproportionate rates in recent years, according to data analyzed by the New York Times. The Times found that 14 patients were removed from the hospital’s waiting list after becoming too sick or dying. The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients told the Times that the hospital’s mortality rate for transplant waitlist patients was abnormally high.
Records reviewed by the Times show that as of last month, the hospital had performed three liver transplants, while five patients had died or become too ill for a liver transplant.
“We acknowledge the severity of this allegation,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is also investigating the matter, said in a statement. “We are working diligently to address this issue with the attention it deserves.”
How has Memorial Hermann responded to the allegations?
The hospital defended Bynon on Friday, calling him an “extraordinary” doctor. Memorial Hermann said it is working on transferring its patients to other transplant programs. The hospital released the following statement Friday about the current status of the investigation and its response:
“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 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.”
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