HOUSTON – As the investigation continues into allegations of a surgeon manipulating donor transplant databases, lawsuits are piling up from loved ones of former patients who are coming forward calling for accountability.
Joseph Whittington was joined by attorneys from Davis & Davis Law Firm Tuesday morning to share his story about his father, Jerry Whittington. He was diagnosed with non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver and placed on a transplant list in January 2023 but was taken off months later. His father died in January 2024 at 64 years old.
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“Due to his health declining too much, he wasn’t going to make it – he made a turn for the worse right after they told him no (in front of him) so it really didn’t make any sense for the whole family,” Joseph said. “You have to be so sick to get a liver, now he’s too sick to get a liver.”
His attorneys also noted how Mr. Whittington was a radiology technician for about 15 years at UTMB.
“It’s been very hurtful for them,” JD Davis said. “They went to UTMB, expecting to be treated like family after working there and giving so much of [their] career and then to be treated poorly and transferred to Memorial Hermann and then with the hope again of getting a liver by a UT Physician (again they have a family connection with UT) and then to be told that your dad was too sick to get a transplant - that’s been very hurtful.”
The Davis Law Firm also confirmed in their news conference there are two additional clients they are representing but names will not be disclosed due to privacy concerns. However, KPRC 2 digital content producer Ahmed Humble is told by their representatives, that one of the patients was a man in his 20s and the other was a woman in her 50s.
This new lawsuit comes a week after several family members shared their stories, speaking out against Memorial Hermann and Dr. J Steve Bynon Jr. One family member, who spoke to KPRC 2 reporter, Corley Peel, said she remembered being in the hospital room with the doctor before her father passed away in January 2023.
“The doctor came in and he looked over at my son,” Susie Garcia told Peel. “He told me, ‘You need to get your family together.’ And I said, ‘No, he’s strong. He’s going to pull through this.’ And with his coffee cup in hand, he looked over at my son and he says, ‘I’ve seen a lot of cases like this. He’s not going to pull through.’”
What happened?
It’s been almost a month since KPRC 2 has been reporting on the Memorial Hermann transplant scandal. On April 9, KPRC 2′s digital content producer Michael Horton first reported how Memorial Hermann Hospital released a statement announcing they have inactivated their liver transplant program due to “a pattern of irregularities” with donor acceptance criteria within the database of the United Network for Organ Sharing.
MORE: Memorial Hermann has stopped accepting liver and kidney transplants. Here’s why
Memorial Hermann said that the donor acceptance inconsistencies that led to the program’s halting were limited to the liver transplant program.
About two days later, The New York Times reported that a surgeon, Dr. J. Steve Bynon Jr., working at the hospital had been accused of denying liver transplants to some of his patients. The report also said officials were investigating allegations that Dr. Bynon “secretly” altered transplant databases, to make some of his patients ineligible for liver transplants.
What we know about Dr. Bynon
Dr. Bynon is employed by the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.
He has had a contract with Memorial Hermann’s abdominal transplant program since 2011, where he served in a leading role. He held a position at the United Network for Organ Sharing, serving on the Membership and Professional Standards Committee. He is also listed on the Board of Directors at The Living Bank, a nonprofit organization dedicated to living organ donation.
What are people saying about Dr. Bynon?
In short, the commentary on Dr. Bynon has been mixed. UTHealth stood by him early on calling Dr. Bynon an “exceptionally talented and caring physician.” They have not been able to comment since then due to the pending lawsuit.
Former patients also came forward telling KPRC 2 to defend Dr. Bynon saying he saved lives. However, this was countered by Memorial Hermann, who cited “inappropriate changes” were made to the donor acceptance criteria within the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) transplant information database by a “single physician.”
How are people reacting to the transplant scandal?
Tensions have remained high since the start of this report, but at the end of the day, everyone has been trying to find answers. KPRC 2′s Joel Eisenbaum for example, spoke with Dr. Valerie Guttman Koch, a medical ethicist, and assistant professor at the University of Houston’s Law Center days after the story broke to find out why data might be manipulated when it seems counterintuitive.
Considering the mixed reactions early on in this story, between patients who were defending Dr. Bynon and Memorial Hermann blaming him as the sole perpetrator behind the manipulated databases, KPRC 2 digital content producer Ahmed Humble even spoke with a doctor who had once been at the forefront of similar national media attention because of the deja vu he was experiencing. The main difference, however, is in the past weeks since KPRC 2 has reported on Dr. Bynon, he has not come forward to share his side of the story despite our reporters reaching out.
Meanwhile, several patients who have been anxiously waiting (some even years) for transplants unfortunately find themselves forced to keep waiting. And in the case of these ongoing lawsuits, the loved ones of these lost patients are exhausted, frustrated, and in need of action.
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