by Frank Bergman
A New Jersey organ harvesting organization is under intensifying scrutiny after nearly a dozen whistleblowers accused the group of alarming misconduct.
The organization, New Jersey Sharing Network, is accused of harvesting organs from patients who showed signs of life and then covering it up.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) and Oversight Subcommittee Chair Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) sent a blistering letter on November 19 demanding documents and more than 30 transcribed interviews from the New Jersey Sharing Network.
The lawmaker letter cites what they called “several egregious actions and potential violations of federal and state statutes.”
The allegations, supplied by multiple insiders, upend years of industry assurances that misconduct claims were overblown.
Or as reform advocate Greg Segal put it, “the call is coming from inside the house.”
Patient “Reanimated” as Organ Recovery Began
The most explosive allegation says that during a circulatory-death organ recovery, a procedure requiring irreversible loss of heart and respiratory function.
The whistleblowers allege that the patient “reanimated” after the recovery process began.
According to the letter, when the administrator on call notified leadership, the Sharing Network allegedly told staff to continue with the recovery despite clear signs of life.
However, the hospital intervened and halted the procedure, saving the patient’s life.
Whistleblowers also say the organization “deleted or otherwise manipulated” documents related to the incident.