Patients were not able to receive organ donations because the altered records “effectively inactivated the candidates on the liver transplant waiting list,” Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center said in a statement.
A Houston hospital has halted its liver and kidney transplant programs after discovering that a doctor manipulated records for liver transplant candidates, according to media reports.
“Inappropriate changes … effectively inactivated the candidates on the liver transplant waiting list,” Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center said in a statement, according to the Houston Chronicle. “Subsequently, these patients did not/were not able to receive organ donation offers while inactive.”
The medical center said in the statement that the doctor admitted to changing patient records.
The New York Times, citing officials, identified him as transplant surgeon Dr. J. Steve Bynon Jr. The newspaper reported that he is employed by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and has had a contract to lead Memorial Hermann’s abdominal transplant program since 2011.