Federal probe targets organ collection groups for potential fraud

The nonprofit organizations that collect and distribute organs for transplantation in the United States are under federal investigation to determine if they’ve defrauded the government, the Washington Post reported Monday.

The probe seeks to determine whether organ procurement organizations, or OPOs, which work alongside hospitals to procure everything from kidneys to tissue, have overbilled payors or, in some cases, billed for unallowable costs, the report said, citing unidentified sources.

There are 56 organ-procurement organizations in the U.S., including Pittsburgh-based Center for Organ Recovery and Education, widely known as CORE.

CORE has not been approached by federal investigators, Susan Stuart, CORE’s president and CEO, told TribLive via email.

The Washington Post did not name CORE in its report but said OPOs in at least five states are part of the probe.

Stuart said she was unable to comment on the Post story without knowledge of specific details of the reports or allegations mentioned in the article.

“However, CORE can confirm an unwavering dedication to our mission of saving and healing lives through donation, prioritizing compassion and respect when caring for our donor families and providing life-saving gifts to recipients,” Stuart said. “To achieve this, fostering a culture of transparency and integrity is fundamental to our operations. We encourage everyone, as we do ourselves, to trust in the established protocols and guidelines set forth by federal regulators of the organ procurement system. Our vision is a future where everyone will make a pledge for life and where no one dies waiting for a life-saving transplant.”

The Washington Post said U.S. attorneys in several parts of the U.S. are involved in the investigation, along with investigators from federal agencies including the inspector general of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Western Pennsylvania did not respond to a TribLive request for comment.

OPOs and other parts of the organ transplant system have long been under scrutiny. A Tribune-Review investigation in 2013 found OPOs such as CORE operate with little financial oversight while amassing millions of dollars in profit. The Trib stories revealed high salaries, with many executives making more than $500,000 a year.

The Post report said some OPOs have failed for years to collect enough organs to meet demand.

CORE in 2023 reported a 23% increase in organ transplants, with 858 transplants made possible by 334 organ donors.

About 7,000 people in Pennsylvania are awaiting an organ transplant, and about 17 people die each day awaiting a transplant, according to CORE.

OPOs receive payments from transplant centers as well as the federal Medicare system.

The Post reported part of the investigation is focusing on if any of the organ procurement organizations have violated the False Claims Act by knowingly billing the federal government for unallowable costs. The probe also is looking at the potential of kickbacks among the organizations. Another angle seeks to determine whether the OPOs have fraudulently billed Veterans Affairs and Medicare, the Post reported.

“Organ procurement executives have acted with complete impunity for decades,” Greg Segal, co-founder of Organize, an activist group that seeks widespread reform of the transplant industry, told the Post. “They should not be above the law.”