Congressman Brett Guthrie, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman John Joyce, M.D., Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, have requested a briefing from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding recent actions by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to improve safety in the organ procurement and transplantation system.
On September 18, 2025, HHS announced new efforts to enhance safety, transparency, and efficiency in this system. This included the first-ever decertification of an organ procurement organization (OPO) in U.S. history after an investigation found unsafe practices, poor training, chronic underperformance, understaffing, and paperwork errors.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has previously focused on patient safety within organ procurement and transplantation. The committee’s ongoing investigation now seeks information from CMS about the decertification of the OPO in South Florida as well as similar incidents described in a report by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
In their letter to CMS, Chairmen Guthrie and Joyce stated: “While the Committee applauds efforts taken by CMS to uphold the highest standards of care to which all OPOs are expected to adhere, HHS’s announcement decertifying the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency illustrates the urgency of this moment and why the subcommittee is not finished with our oversight of the organ transplant system. It is our moral obligation as members of Congress to establish safeguards and prevent these harmful practices from persisting further, and we look forward to obtaining answers from the agency about the prevalence of these incidents, as well as how CMS plans to proceed with prioritizing patient safety first and foremost.”
The committee has been active in legislative reforms related to organ procurement. During the 118th Congress, it led passage of legislation that modernized oversight for organ procurement networks. The Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act was signed into law on September 22, 2023. The act allows HRSA more flexibility in contracting for network functions.
Further oversight actions included a March 2024 investigation into data security concerns involving United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), requests for information from HRSA about implementation of new laws, hearings examining mismanagement allegations at various organizations involved in transplantation services—including findings later confirmed by HRSA reports—and additional requests for briefings about ongoing patient safety oversight.
A March 2025 HRSA report reviewed hundreds of cases involving potential donors where no organs were ultimately transplanted; nearly 30 percent had issues such as problems with family interactions or medical assessments. Following this report, HRSA issued a corrective action plan requiring monitoring improvements at specific organizations like KYDA (now Network for Hope), policy proposals for public comment on donation procedures after circulatory death (DCD), and better communication with families.
The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held hearings throughout 2024-2025 focusing on identified deficiencies within national organ procurement systems.
