Congress Opens Probe into New Jersey Organ Procurement Group After Whistleblower Claims

Congressional investigators have launched a formal inquiry into the New Jersey Organ and Tissue Sharing Network (NJ Sharing Network) following whistleblower allegations that the organization sought organs without proper consent and attempted to continue recovery after a patient briefly showed signs of life.

Allegations and the Camden incident

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee said it has been requesting records from the New Jersey OPO since at least July and has interviewed nearly a dozen whistleblowers. The committee’s letter highlights a case at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, where a patient pronounced dead reportedly "reanimated" as organ recovery was underway. According to witnesses cited by investigators, the procurement team contacted the OPO’s CEO, who allegedly told staff to "proceed with recovery." Hospital personnel intervened and halted the procedure.

The committee described the episode as "shocking" and "alarming," and said some witnesses reported that documents related to the case were deleted or altered. The NJ Sharing Network has been asked to provide additional unredacted materials and internal communications regarding the incident.

Broader accusations and potential consequences

Other allegations in the committee’s letter include claims that the OPO used documents to assert authority to remove organs from patients who were not listed as donors or who had rescinded consent; that it procured — and in some cases discarded — organs to meet federal performance metrics; and that it distributed organs out of sequence on transplant waiting lists. The committee said the organization may have made misleading statements to Congress during its review.

"This is unacceptable," the letter states. "The organs procured by every [organ procurement organization] across the country belong to the individuals on the waitlist who are ranked and matched using medical criteria. They do not belong to the OPOs."

The committee is considering whether the allegations warrant revocation of the OPO’s tax-exempt status and has suggested that legislative reforms governing organ procurement organizations may be needed.

Context: other OPO investigations

The inquiry into the New Jersey OPO is part of a wider congressional scrutiny of organ procurement organizations. In July, the committee raised questions about the Indiana Donor Network’s use of private jets for non-mission flights. The committee also reviewed the Miami-area Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency; after that review, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services moved to decertify the agency in September, citing unsafe practices, staffing shortages and paperwork errors.

Separately, the committee sent a letter to Network for Hope, a Kentucky OPO, seeking records related to unsafe practices. That correspondence references a reported incident in Richmond in which a man says he regained consciousness on the operating table during a recovery procedure; local prosecutors are investigating.

Next steps

The House Ways and Means Committee has asked the New Jersey organization to produce complaints received, leadership and staff communications, and any additional unredacted documents related to the Camden patient. The committee continues to review witness testimony and records to determine whether further action, including legislative changes or enforcement measures, is warranted.