STATEMENT
Media Contact:
Jenny Daigle | jdaigle@aopo.org
AOPO Statement on House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Hearing on Oversight of the U.S. Organ Donation System
McLean, VA (July 22, 2025) — Today, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on “Ensuring Patient Safety: Oversight of the U.S. Organ Donation and Transplant System.”
The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) appreciates the subcommittee’s continued diligence in reviewing how the organ donation and transplantation system operates as well as the critical, interconnected roles held by its many stakeholders. We are concerned by the cases raised during today’s hearing and share the subcommittee’s commitment to ensuring patient safety and strengthening trust in the system.
AOPO supports the subcommittee members’ calls for better collaboration across the system to raise standards and rebuild public trust in organ donation. We are dedicated to working closely with our members and partners, including the subcommittee, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to improve safeguards, clarify the roles of all stakeholders involved in donation and transplant, and ensure consistency in practices across the country.
The clinical policies and protocols that guide this system are designed first and foremost to protect and save lives. When these safeguards are not followed, people are put at risk – and that is unacceptable. As a community, we must ensure any deviations from these protocols are promptly reported, thoroughly investigated, and addressed with accountability and transparency.
AOPO and its members remain devoted to our mission to save lives through organ donation. We pledge to work with all stakeholders to improve national standards and uphold the trust placed in us by donors, families, and patients. Organ donation saves thousands of lives each year. We urge the public to visit factsaboutorgandonation.com to learn more.