Transplant doctor accused of secretly denying new livers to patients who later died

A Texas transplant doctor has been accused of manipulating records for liver transplant candidates, causing a Houston medical centre’s liver and kidney transplant programmes to be halted.

Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center said they discovered “a pattern of irregularities” with donor acceptance criteria, finding problems with information entered into a database created for patients awaiting a liver transplant at the hospital.

The donor acceptance criteria include factors of age and weight of deceased donors whose livers were made available for transplant, they said in a statement to KHOU 11.

The medical centre, which declined to identify the doctor, said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle that “inappropriate changes... effectively inactivated the candidates on the liver transplant waiting list.”

“Subsequently, these patients did not/were not able to receive organ donation offers while inactive,” they added.

The liver transplant program was first halted by Memorial Hermann on 4 April, local reports say, followed closely by their kidney transplant program a few days later on 9 April, citing a “shared leadership structure/”

The “irregularities” were reported to be only limited to the liver transplant programmes.

The halting of the program has meant 38 patients on the list for the liver program and 346 patients on the kidney transplant list are now being contacted and helped by the hospital to try and find them other means of care, according to the AP.

The medical centre said in a statement that they have been actively working with all patients, families and caregivers from the liver and kidney transplant programs and that “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.”

While Memorial Hermann is one of Houston’s major hospitals, its liver transplant programme is relatively small compared to the rest of Texas, with only 29 liver transplants in 2023, according to federal data seen by the New York Times.

The doctor involved has been named by the New York Times as Dr J Steve Bynon Jr. The outlet reported that he allegedly manipulated a government database that made some of his own patients ineligible to receive new livers.

When contacted by the newspaper Dr Bynon declined to comment and referred questions to UTHealth Houston.

When asked if Dr Bynon is being investigated, a spokesperson for UTHealth Houston told The Independent that the “Memorial Hermann program” is under investigation.

In a statement, UTHealth added that Dr Bynon, along with other faculty and staff members are “assisting with the inquiry into Memorial Hermann’s liver transplant program and are committed to addressing and resolving any findings identified by this process.”

UTHealth added that Dr Bynon is an “exceptionally talented and caring physician and a pioneer in 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 while treating patients with higher-than-average acuity and disease complexity,” UTHealth wrote of the doctor.

“UTHealth Houston is proud of the many contributions Dr. Bynon and his team have made to our university, our academic and clinical transplant programs, and to the field of transplant medicine.”

The Department of Health and Human Services also added in a statement on Tuesday that they acknowledge the “severity of this allegation” and are working across their department to address the matter.

“We are working diligently to address this issue with the attention it deserves,” they said in part, adding that they are working with a number of agencies and networks to investigate.

The Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center added in their statement that their investigation is ongoing and they are cooperating with regulatory authorities.

“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,” Memorial Hermann said.

“All program transplant physicians are employed by the University of Health Science Center at Houston and contracted to Memorial Hermann to provide physician services.”

The Independent has contacted the Dr Bynon for comment.