Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warned that the organ transplant system in the United States may show signs of not respecting the sanctity of human life.

The agency investigated a major organ procurement organization that operates in Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, and parts of West Virginia, with the investigation revealing “clear negligence” even after an inquiry under the Biden administration showed “no major concerns.”

Among the 351 cases of authorized donations examined by the Health Resources and Services Administration, some 103 cases “showed concerning features,” including seventy-three patients with “neurological signs incompatible with organ donation.”

“Our findings show that hospitals allowed the organ procurement process to begin when patients showed signs of life, and this is horrifying,” Kennedy said.

There were indeed at least twenty-eight patients who “may not have been deceased at the time organ procurement was initiated,” while evidence indicated “poor neurologic assessments, lack of coordination with medical teams, questionable consent practices, and misclassification of causes of death, particularly in overdose cases.”

“The organ procurement organizations that coordinate access to transplants will be held accountable,” Kennedy continued. “The entire system must be fixed to ensure that every potential donor’s life is treated with the sanctity it deserves.”

The Health Resources and Services Administration moved to ensure that organ procurement is monitored at the national level to improve safety, with the Department of Health and Human Services commenting that “entrenched bureaucracies, outdated systems, and reckless disregard for human life have failed to protect our most vulnerable citizens.”