STATEMENT
Contact Information:
Jenny Daigle | [email protected]

AOPO Statement on House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee
Hearing Claim & Determination of Death Clarification

Following recent claims before Congress that an organ donor in 2021 was discovered alive during organ recovery, the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) feels it is important to clarify the responsibilities of an OPO within the complex donation and transplant process.

It is critical for the public and lawmakers to understand that OPOs are not involved nor have any say over the declaration of a patient’s death. OPO teams only proceed with organ recovery after the family authorizes donation and after clinicians at the hospital make a declaration of death for the patient. Up until the time death is officially declared, OPO teams are required by law to stand by.

AOPO strongly believes when concerns are raised about a donation case, they should be immediately reported to the appropriate authorities and investigated. It is not clear if and when authorities were alerted to this case, which allegedly occurred three years ago, and we are alarmed that the information was first presented to Congress without first allowing for proper investigation by the appropriate authorities.

We are grateful the proper state and federal authorities are now involved in examining the case. Serious claims such as these can cost lives by eroding public trust in the organ donation and transplantation system, which has saved millions of lives, including over 43,000 organs transplanted in 2023. We fully support the investigation and look forward to knowing and sharing its outcomes soon.

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About the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO)

The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) is the not-for-profit trade association leading the nation’s organ donation community to save and improve lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation. Founded in 1984, AOPO advances organ donation and transplantation by driving continual improvement of the donation process, collaborating with stakeholders, and sharing successful practices with its 48 member OPOs. AOPO envisions a future where every opportunity for donation results in lives saved. For more information, please visit www.aopo.org.