A Texas hospital has shut down its organ transplant program after discovering that a doctor allegedly made “inappropriate changes” to medical records that disqualified some patients from surgery.
Houston-based Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center, which previously had a kidney and liver transplant program, has suspended the program while it investigates changes to its patient database.exist a statement The hospital told the Houston Chronicle the changes affected patients awaiting liver transplants.
The New York Times quoted hospital officials as saying It has been identified Dr. J. Steve Bynon Jr., a well-respected transplant surgeon, is alleged to have made the changes to the database. The Times said Beynon works at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston but was contracted by Herman to lead the abdominal transplant program.
According to the Times, the changes involve patients with “impossible” characteristics that render them ineligible for transplants:
When doctors put a patient on the list, they must determine the type of donor they will consider, including the person’s age and weight. Hospital officials said they discovered patients were listed to receive only donors whose age and weight were unlikely — for example, a 300-pound toddler — which would preclude them from receiving any transplants.
It’s unclear what prompted doctors to make these changes. When Gizmodo reached out for comment, UTHealth provided a statement that read in part:
Dr. Steve Beynon was a talented and caring physician and a pioneer in the field of 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 when treating patients with above-average vision and disease complexity… Our faculty, including Dr. Beynon, is assisting with the investigation into Memorial Hermann’s liver transplant program and is committed to addressing and resolving any issues discovered during the process.
Hermann Texas Medical Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is currently investigating the incident. “We acknowledge the seriousness of this allegation,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told The Times. “We are working hard to address this issue and give it the attention it deserves.”