Financial Incentives Have Lead to An Increase In Illegal Organ Donations

Department of Health and Human Services Says There Is Evidence of Systemic Misconduct in U.S. Organ Transplant Industry

NEW YORK, NEW YORK (August 17, 2025) – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has said it has discovered evidence of systemic abuses and disregard for human life in the organ transplant industry.

The agency said that it examined a number of cases where organ extractions were requested but ultimately not performed. Of the 351 cases that they examined, they said that over 100 raised red flags.

There were also at least 28 patients who may not have been dead when the organ extractions were undertaken. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the findings horrifying and said that there will be accountability.

Avinoam Laby is a personal injury attorney at GLK Law. He sat down with NTD News Today to discuss the findings.

Laby and GLK Law are currently representing the family of a woman who had her organs harvested illegally.

The incident began on May 7, 2022. A 69-year-old woman was tragically hit by an L train by 14th St. in Flatiron. She was taken to New York City Health and Hospitals and declared brain dead.

Her family filed a missing person’s report with the Nassau County Police Department on May 8. The hospital failed to take sufficient measures to identify her before harvesting her organs.

Laby is currently pursuing a civil action against New York City Health and Hospitals on behalf of the woman’s son. He believes that certain measures need to be taken to prevent other incidents like this.

“We have to start with is the person actually dead. There are two ways to define death generally. There is circulatory death or brain death. One involves the loss of cardiac function in the heart. The other is irreversible cessation of functions in the brain. The number one thing is to make sure that the person is indeed confirmed dead by independent doctors,” according to Laby.

He continues, “The next issue is the issue of consent. Did the person agree to donate one organ, all their organs? Did they have a donor card? If someone is found without any ID, what are the steps that the organ procurement organizations and the hospitals need to take to identify that person. […] There need to be specific rules, a specific path that the hospital has to go through before the organs can be procured.”

Part of the problem with the current system in place to procure organs is that the financial incentives are very strong and often lead to safety lapses. Hospitals and organ procurement organizations (OPOs) make more money as they collect more viable organs. There are certain steps that should be followed to prevent illegal organ harvesting.

• If someone is unidentified, a social media search should be done.
• If someone is unidentified, a background search should be performed.
• If someone is unidentified, a fingerprint search can be conducted.
• If someone is unidentified, hospitals can search through missing persons reports.

Families should make sure that they read every single sheet of paper before signing anything that may allow a hospital to procure the organs of their loved ones.

Getting Legal Help After Illegal Organ Harvesting

If someone that you love has had their organs illegally harvested, there is help available. We at GLK Law are here to assist you in any way that we can. Our legal team is committed to making sure that  family members and individuals are the only ones making these types of decisions. There is simply no place for hospitals and organ procurement organizations to ignore the rules to line their own pockets. Whether you just have legal questions or are thinking about hiring an attorney, we are here for you. You can reach out to us anytime for a risk-free consultation at (516) 908-9792.