The second organ procurement organization in US history was decertified August 5. The first was September 2025. Before that: zero. Ever. Despite federal authority existing for decades.
A federal review of 351 Network for Hope cases found 103 with concerning features. 73 patients had neurological signs incompatible with donation. At least 28 may not have been deceased when procurement started.
Donation after circulatory death went from 2% of deceased donors in 2000 to nearly 50% in 2025. The national registry has no field for whether normothermic regional perfusion was used. Researchers infer it from timestamps.
The 2020 performance scorecard doubled top-tier organizations and grew transplants 25%. It also measured only production. No near misses, no families steamrolled, no patients who improved. That ran for five full years during the fastest expansion of circulatory death donation ever.
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