'You're Under Oath': Kat Cammack Grills Former OPTN Head On 'Basic Failures' In Organ Procurement

6 months ago

During a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) former Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network President, Dr. Richard Formica about "basic failures" in the organ procurement process.

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00:00Lady yields. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida, Ms. Kamek, for her five minutes of questioning.

00:07Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to our second panel of witnesses for appearing here today.

00:13Now, as everyone knows, this committee has been investigating corruption from organ contractors for more than a year.

00:19In fact, I was in the last hearing that we had on this, and it was quite a contentious hearing.

00:23One issue that's pretty close to my heart is ensuring equal access for life-saving transplants for patients with disabilities.

00:31Just last month, the House passed a bipartisan bill that I was proud to lead alongside my friend and colleague, Debbie Dingell,

00:38to end organ transplant discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

00:44So it is with total horror that I read a recent investigative report highlighting one of the most horrific cases of patient abuses.

00:53The New York Times detailed what happened to Misty Hawkins last year.

00:57She was a vibrant woman in Alabama who loved movies and dancing, but she also had a lifelong cognitive disability.

01:04After a tragic incident, Misty's mother agreed to organ donation.

01:09And I'm quoting from the report here about what happened next.

01:13Quote,

01:13A surgeon made an incision in her chest and sawed through her breastbone.

01:17Doctors discovered that her heart was still beating.

01:21She appeared to be breathing.

01:22They were slicing into Ms. Hawkins while she was still alive.

01:27Now, this is not the first time that something like this has happened.

01:31In 2021, a doctor filed a case report about a woman with Down syndrome who was in an operating room being treated as an organ donor.

01:40During the harvesting of her organs, staff realized that her aortic and renal arteries were pumping and pulsing.

01:46In other words, she was not dead.

01:48The patient was given powerful drugs, fentanyl and lorazepam.

01:53And then, according to the doctor filing the case report, 18 minutes after she was first pronounced dead, she was pronounced dead a second time.

02:03This is something that you would see in the movies.

02:08But unfortunately, we're seeing real-world examples of this today.

02:14So, I'm going to start with you, Mr. Formica.

02:17As a physician, I'm sure you are as horrified as I am.

02:22Were you invited to participate in the hearing on organ transplants last year?

02:29I was invited, yes.

02:30Why did you not appear?

02:32I was given about four days' notice and couldn't get away from my clinical responsibilities.

02:36I understand.

02:38Now, we discussed this back then, but I want to bring it to you now.

02:42HRSA's report included two particularly damaging conclusions about the federal organ contractor assigned to Kentucky,

02:47including, quote, its failure to recognize neurologic function inconsistent or unfavorable for organ donation,

02:55and its failure to work collaboratively with patients' primary medical teams.

02:59If there are reasons to believe that some organ contractors are failing to recognize neurologic function issues inconsistent with organ donation,

03:09in other words, the patients could never recover or they were not suitable for organ donation,

03:14then I'm even more concerned about what that means for care given to patients with disabilities.

03:20Are you tracking with me?

03:21Yeah, absolutely.

03:22Okay, so.

03:22I'm sure you're concerned about the patients' disabilities.

03:25And you're under oath, so I want you to very clearly detail if you have heard of other reports similar to this

03:33with the very basic failures that have been outlined in what I have said.

03:37The reports I've heard, I've read that New York Times article, I shared your, I don't even know the verbs to put in there,

03:44so I won't do that.

03:45I've heard from HRSA secondhand that there's other cases.

03:50I have never been given the primary data for those.

03:54Really?

03:55Yeah, not really.

03:56We have not been given access to the primary cases.

03:59We were told that they were happening.

04:01I haven't seen them.

04:02I haven't seen the, the only thing I know about the index case, which we're discussing here, is the HRSA report.

04:09I was, the OPTN was not given the data for that one.

04:12We were told not to review that case.

04:14And just, just so we have this on the record, you recently, you, you have since left, but you were the president.

04:19I was the president up until June 30th, yes.

04:21Okay.

04:22Now, you're aware of the bipartisan report from our friends in the Senate that found that the Miami OPO, for example,

04:30recovered organs from a donor before the donor's heart stopped and against the family's wishes.

04:37I've heard that case, yes.

04:38But you just said that you really hadn't.

04:40I haven't seen primary data on that, Congresswoman.

04:43So I've, I've heard these cases.

04:44I can tell you that the Miami OPO has been under review with the OPTN.

04:49And I, the last, my last act as a president with my board was to send a letter to the secretary asking for assistance in managing that case.

05:01But, I mean, the report is public.

05:02So, I mean, you're.

05:05Congressman, I, I've heard these, I know what you're saying.

05:07I've heard these cases, but I don't have any primary data.

05:09I've been a spectator to those cases as well.

05:11I'm sure that brings the families of these individuals great comfort that you haven't seen primary data,

05:17despite the fact that many of these reports are public record.

05:20I mean, this is, this is outrageous that this is happening in the United States.

05:25This is the stuff that you hear in, in, in third world countries.

05:29I mean, it's clear that a 40 year experiment of letting organ contractors, police themselves,

05:34has left our most vulnerable neighbors to endure unimaginable abuse and torture.

05:38So, I think it's clear that a lot more work has to be done here.

05:42While I appreciate your time here, I think many of the answers have left us with a lot more questions than answers.

05:50So, with that, my time has expired, Mr. Chairman.

'You're Under Oath': Kat Cammack Grills Former OPTN Head On 'Basic Failures' In Organ Procurement

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