Board places The Methodist Hospital on probation

Published on: Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Richmond - The OPTN/UNOS Board of Directors has placed The Methodist Hospital on probation. The Methodist Hospital is a member transplant hospital in Houston, Texas.

As established in the OPTN bylaws, probation is a public designation of an OPTN/UNOS member that is executing a corrective action plan for a violation of OPTN policies or bylaws or a serious lapse in patient safety or quality of care. 

Summary of Events

The Methodist Hospital recovered a transplantable donor heart knowing that its use was unlikely for its intended transplant candidate. The heart was eventually discarded without an opportunity to be used for a different candidate.

The OPTN/UNOS Membership and Professional Standards Committee (MPSC) conducted a systematic review of this issue and the member's history and concluded that the hospital should address process controls to prevent recurrence of a similar event. The Methodist Hospital waived its right to an interview and a hearing with the MPSC.

The MPSC recommended that The Methodist Hospital be placed on probation. On a conference call meeting on March 5, 2014, the OPTN/UNOS Board of Directors approved the MPSC's recommendation.

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) serves as the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) by contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Division of Transplantation. The OPTN brings together medical professionals, transplant recipients and donor families to develop national organ transplantation policy.