The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has begun decertifying Network for Hope, the federally designated organ procurement organization serving Kentucky and parts of Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia, after federal reviews found persistent patient-safety failures.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services posted a public termination notice dated August 5, 2026. It says Network for Hope no longer meets the requirements to be certified as a qualified organ procurement organization and sets November 3, 2026, as the date CMS will terminate its Medicare agreement unless the process changes through appeal or transition steps.
The action matters beyond one nonprofit because organ procurement organizations help coordinate deceased-donor organ, tissue, and eye donation with hospitals and transplant teams. The government is signaling that patient-safety reviews, donor evaluation, consent practices, and adverse-event oversight can now lead to the loss of federal certification.
What changed
HHS said Health Resources and Services Administration reviewers examined 351 cases between 2021 and 2024 in which organ donation had been authorized but was not completed at Network for Hope. The department said 103 cases, or 29.3%, showed concerning features, including 73 patients with neurological signs the agency said were incompatible with organ donation.
HHS also said some potential donors may not have been deceased when procurement was initiated, raising serious questions about neurologic assessments, coordination with medical teams, consent practices, and cause-of-death classification in overdose cases. CMS said its May 2026 review found prior quality concerns continued to surface in donor evaluation, adverse-event review, and administration.
Network for Hope disputes the decision. Fierce Healthcare reported that CEO Barry Massa said in an emailed statement that the organization strongly disagrees with the secretary's decision and will appeal it. The group has not been removed immediately from its service area.
What the CMS notice says
The CMS notice says no Medicare or Medicaid payments will be made for organ procurement costs attributable to Network for Hope on or after November 3, 2026. It also says the donation service area will not be opened for competition until the appeals process is complete or Network for Hope gives up its administrative appeal rights.
CMS may temporarily extend the agreement to allow a transition to another organ procurement organization. That detail is important for hospitals, donor families, and transplant programs in the affected region because the agency is trying to avoid an abrupt gap in organ procurement coverage while the enforcement process moves forward.
Why it matters
Organ donation depends on public trust at moments when families and hospitals are making high-stakes decisions. A decertification proceeding can reassure some patients that regulators are willing to enforce safety standards, but it can also unsettle people who are deciding whether to remain registered donors.
The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations said it supports accountability when an organization falls short of regulatory, statutory, or legal standards. It also said enforcement should be transparent, evidence-based, consistent, and include appropriate due process, including the opportunity to appeal.
The immediate date to watch is November 3, 2026. For readers, the narrow takeaway is this: the federal action does not mean organ donation has stopped in Kentucky or surrounding service areas today. It means CMS has started a formal decertification path after saying Network for Hope failed to show enough improvement, while the organization says it will contest the decision.
