Wyden, colleagues investigate organ donation system for possible self-dealing, financial conflicts of interest

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) – Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Chuck Grassley, R- Iowa, Ben Cardin, D-Md, and Todd Young, R-Ind., said Monday they are continuing their years-long push for accountability in the U.S. organ procurement and transplant system.

New letters led this week by the senators mark a powerful push to crack down on serious potential financial conflicts of interest and abuse of taxpayer money by several organ procurement organization (OPO) executives and current and former board members of the Association of Organ Procurement Organization (AOPO). 

The senators asked eight OPO executives about instances in which they potentially abused their positions for monetary gain. The letters to each executive are linked below.  

• Letter to Barry Massa, LifeCenter Organ Donor Network in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Letter to Jan Finn, Midwest Transplant Network in Westwood, Kan.
• Letter to Colleen McCarthy, Versiti Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wis.
• Letter to Jennifer Prinz, Donor Alliance in Denver, Colo.
• Letter to Jeffrey Orlowski, LifeShare Network in Oklahoma City, Okla.
• Letter to Rick Hasz, Gift of Life Donor Program in Philadelphia, Pa. 
• Letter to Marty Sellers, Tennessee Donor Services in Nashville, Tenn.
• Letter to Wayne Dunlap, New Mexico Donor Services in Albuquerque, N.M.

The letters were led by Senator Chuck Grassley. 

The senators also wrote the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) after a recent audit report found that OPOs misspent taxpayer dollars by using Medicare to reimburse inappropriate expenditures. The senators are urging CMS to implement reforms to address glaring problems with the current reimbursement system for organ procurement.

The full text of the letter to CMS is HERE.  

Wyden, Grassley, Cardin and Young have worked extensively to improve the U.S. organ donation system, joining forces in 2020 to launch a Finance Committee investigation into the system’s failures. Their oversight efforts notched a major victory earlier this summer when Congress passed their legislation to reform management of the organ system and improve patients’ access to lifesaving organ donations. The bill now awaits the president’s signature.