Oz Presses Hospitals to Ensure No Coercion in Organ Donation

The Trump administration issued guidance urging hospitals and organ recovery groups to take steps to make sure patients and their families don’t feel coerced into organ donation.

The guidance released Wednesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services clarifies that organ procurement organizations (OPOs) and donor hospitals must allow families adequate time to make decisions regarding potential donation. OPOs are nonprofit groups that solicit, retrieve, and transport human organs for transplantation.

The agency said the action follows reports that some OPOs have rushed aspects of the organ procurement process and have pressured families to make decisions during moments of ...