Houston transplant surgeon accused of altering records to deny patients organs; program suspended

A decorated transplant surgeon in Houston, Texas is being accused of depriving his patients of new livers by exploiting a government database and changing their records.

Dr. J. Steve Bynon Jr. has practiced medicine since 1981, and with "extensive experience in liver transplantation," he's performed over 800 procedures throughout his decades-long career, according to his bio on the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center website.

The medical center said Bynon, a doctor in its liver transplant program, admitted to changing patient records, effectively denying them transplants, according to a statement Memorial Hermann shared with the New York Times on Thursday. The outlet also said Bynon is employed by the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston while working at Memorial Hermann.

Bynon, 64, has been contracted to lead Memorial Hermann’s abdominal transplant program since 2011, his bio on the medical center's website says.

Memorial Hermann voluntarily inactivates liver, kidney transplant programs

While at the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, Bynon oversaw both the liver and kidney transplant programs, according to his bio. Both programs have been voluntarily inactivated while the medical center investigates the allegations against Bynon, the hospital told USA TODAY Friday in a statement.

"Over the past two weeks, we have been actively working with all impacted patients, families and caregivers from the liver and the kidney transplant programs," according to the medical center. "... Our primary priority is ensuring continuity of compassionate care for patients who were on the transplant program lists at the hospital."

Transplant care coordinators are contacting patients in both programs to look at further care options, including "a seamless transition to another transplant program, where necessary," the medical center said.

"We are working with the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston to make the necessary changes that will allow for the quick reactivation of the kidney transplant program under a different physician leadership structure," according to the medical center's statement. "All program transplant physicians are employed by the University of Health Science Center at Houston and contracted to Memorial Hermann to provide physician services."

The medical center's investigation is ongoing, and they "continue to cooperate with all regulatory authorities," according to the statement.

UTHealth Houston, Bynon helping with Memorial Hermann's investigation

UTHealth Houston, as the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston is known locally, called Bynon "an exceptionally talented and caring physician, and a pioneer in abdominal organ transplantation," according to a statement emailed Friday to USA TODAY.

"According to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Bynon’s survival rates and surgical outcomes are among the best in the nation, even while treating patients with higher-than-average acuity and disease complexity," the statement said. "UTHealth Houston is proud of the many contributions Dr. Bynon and his team have made to our university, our academic and clinical transplant programs, and to the field of transplant medicine."

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UTHealth Houston's faculty and staff members, including Bynon, are helping with the "inquiry into Memorial Hermann’s liver transplant program and are committed to addressing and resolving any findings identified by this process," according to the statement.

When contacted by the New York Times by phone on Thursday, Bynon neither confirmed nor denied that he admitted to altering patient records, the outlet said.

Dr. J. Steve Bynon Jr.'s alleged conduct is 'highly inappropriate,' fellow doctor says

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the United Network for Organ Sharing are also investigating the allegations against Bynon, according to a statement obtained by the New York Times.

“We acknowledge the severity of this allegation,” the HHS statement said. “We are working diligently to address this issue with the attention it deserves.”

Dr. Sanjay Kulkarni, the vice chair of the ethics committee at the United Network for Organ Sharing, called Bynon's alleged conduct "highly unusual" and "highly inappropriate," according to the New York Times.

“They’re sitting at home, maybe not traveling, thinking they could get an organ offer any time, but in reality, they’re functionally inactive, and so they’re not going to get that transplant,” Kulkarni told the outlet.

Memorial Hermann patients were taken off of liver transplant waiting list due to death or serious illness

Last year, 14 patients at Memorial Hermann were taken off the center’s waiting list due to them either dying or becoming too ill, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, which evaluates transplant centers in the U.S. The mortality rate of people waiting for a transplant at the medical center was higher than expected, the researchers say.

A hospital spokeswoman told the New York Times that the medical center treated patients who were more severely ill than average.

Memorial Hermann performed 30 liver transplants and 132 kidney transplants in 2023, the Houston Chronicle reported.

It remains unclear how many patients were on Memorial Hermann's waiting list before both transplant programs were inactivated.