Washington DC - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced that his department is shutting down a group responsible for coordinating organ donations in the US.

In a press release shared on Thursday, HHS revealed it is decertifying Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency – a division of the University of Miami Health System and a major organ procurement organization – after an investigation "uncovered years of unsafe practices, poor training, chronic underperformance, understaffing, and paperwork errors."

HHS accused the agency of having "systemic disregard for the sanctity of life," which "poses a grave threat to both prospective donors and recipients."

During a press conference, RFK Jr. said the move was based on "years of documented patient safety data failures and repeated violations of federal requirements," and was to serve as a warning for other OPOs to fall in line.

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"Unlike the [Joe Biden] administration, which ignored these problems and failed to act, the [Donald Trump] administration is setting a new standard that patient safety comes first," Kennedy stated.

HHS gave a list of reforms that seek to "restore integrity and trust" in the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, and Kennedy directed all OPOs to "appoint an OPTN Patient Safety Officer to oversee patient safety."

The move comes after The New York Times recently reported on problems across the transplant industry, including attempts to remove organs from patients who had mistakenly been declared dead.