A former transplant program director at Memorial Hermann has been charged with five counts of falsifying medical records that potentially made some patients ineligible for organ donations, according to a Feb. 5 Justice Department news release.
John “Steve” Bynon Jr., MD, was director of abdominal organ transplantation and surgical director for liver transplantation at Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System’s Texas Medical Center.
In early 2024, the system paused liver, kidney and pancreas transplants and transferred patients waiting on these transplants to other hospitals after identifying a pattern of “irregularities with donor acceptance criteria.”
CMS launched an investigation, and Dr. Bynon admitted to taking “shortcuts” to “ensure patients were safely transplanted” by altering patient records in the United Network for Organ Sharing database, according to CMS inspection documents. Making changes in the UNOS database violates federal rules. Dr. Bynon was removed from his post days after Memorial Hermann learned of the issue.
The charges allege that patients should have been able to receive donations through UNOS, but the falsified statements in the medical records rendered them functionally ineligible for months without knowing they could not receive donor organs. Due to the false statements, Medicare also paid for items and services as if the patients were eligible to receive donor organ offers.
Dr. Bynon is charged with five counts of making false statements in healthcare matters. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine upon each conviction.
Memorial Hermann declined to comment on Dr. Bynon or the charges.
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