'America Will Be Shocked': NJ Organ Donor Group's Alleged 'Evil' Actions Called Out By Congress

WASHINGTON — A New Jersey organ procurement organization (OPO) that allegedly mishandled donations and retrieved organs from patients who were still alive was at the center of a bipartisan hearing on Tuesday where members of Congress and others spoke out against multiple organizations around the United States.

The Oversight Subcommittee hearing came after a Nov. 19 letter was sent by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means to leaders at the New Jersey Organ and Tissue Sharing Network (NJTO) that relayed claims by nearly a dozen whistleblowers that the group acted illegally.

The allegations brought forth against NJTO include actions such as leaders directing medical staff to harvest organs from live patients, reckless discarding of hundreds of organs, exploitation of donors, misleading families, and covering up other actions by deleting records.

"It is shocking...America will be shocked when they find out what's happening," Congressman Aaron Bean (R-Florida) said as he began addressing the room. "The way that we harvest organs and give organs to families, and breaking hearts...I'm truly sorry."

Bean then proceeded, with a large photo behind him of cardboard-like boxes stacked on as shelf, to ask a woman who was there to deliver a testimony what he was looking at.

"According to a whistleblower, those are boxes of human organs that are sitting on shelves, including human pancreases," said Jennifer Erickson, Senior Fellow with the Federation of American Scientists.

"If you donate a pancreas, shouldn't they go directly toward somebody in need of a pancreas?" Bean asked.

"Yes sir, that is what families agree to," Erickson answered.

"So why aren't they going? In fact, I know why...because there's a loophole in the law that says you can use them for research," added Bean.

Erickson then outlined a loophole from a 2020 regulation that allowed organizations to declare credit for pancreases that they said were recovered for research, not just ones that were transplanted.

Bean then pointed out that many of these people probably thought they were donating organs to save a life, and began speaking with Erickson about how "research" has not been properly defined and given a timeline for when organs would still qualify.

According to Erickson, more than 7,000 pancreases were harvested over the last five years across the United States with no credible proof that they were used for research.

Erickson delivered a testimony at the hearing as the daughter of a Navy veteran who died of organ failure as a result of his military service in Vietnam. Serving among various chemicals in the air took three of his organs forty years after the war ended.

"OPOs operate with virtually no accountability," Erickson said as she addressed the "horrifying" reports that they target patients who aren't even dead.

"It's evil," Bean added. "It's evil to rob families of the hope, to mislead them. To take organs before, before any organs should be taken."

Patch reached out to the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General for comment following the events in Washington and was given the following statement:

"Our office is aware of the allegations of potential misconduct involving New Jersey Organ and Tissue Sharing Network discussed in correspondence from the U.S. House of Representatives. We are investigating these allegations and are committed to ensuring that the organ donation system functions appropriately and for the purpose for which it was intended. We ask anyone with information to contact the Division of Criminal Justice at 609-376-2330."

RELATED COVERAGE: NJ Group Tried To Harvest Organs From Live Patient, Misled Grieving Families, Whistleblowers Say

"Both Congress and law enforcement have made it clear that, based on extensive whistleblower allegations, the safety of New Jerseyans may be endangered," Erickson told Patch. "I urge anyone with potential information to come forward so that we can protect our most vulnerable neighbors from ongoing abuse."

Patch has reached out to Carolyn Welsh, President and CEO of NJTO, and others within the organization for comment on this ongoing case and is yet to hear back.

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