Dr. Steve Bynon was accused of changing figures in a database so certain patients on the waitlist would be unable to receive a new liver.
He admitted to his actions in newly-obtained documents from the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
ABC13 obtained the 30-page report on Friday morning.
Bynon is referred to as "The Transplant Surgeon" throughout those pages, but Memorial Hermann confirmed he's the doctor responsible for making "inappropriate changes" to patient information.
"This was all done to ensure patients were safely transplanted," Bynon was quoted as saying in the report.
JD Davis and Tommy Hastings are both attorneys representing clients who have filed lawsuits as a result of Bynon's actions.
They said the report, which they first saw Friday, left them shocked.
"It just infuriates me," Davis said.
The documents give more specific examples of what Bynon did to patients who were waiting for a new liver.
For example, the database stated on Nov. 9, 2022, that "Patient No. 1" could receive a new one from anyone ages 0-to-80 years.
Bynon changed it to a maximum of eight years.
Weight was also a figure manipulated by the doctor.
"Patient No. 3" could receive a liver from anyone weighing 15-to-200 pounds on Feb. 19, 2018.
The minimum was raised to 150 pounds later that year.
No patient names were used in the documents.
Bynon said he was the only doctor at Memorial Hermann who participated in this practice, but Davis believes this was the result of a larger problem within the hospital.
"I can't even imagine how this was allowed to happen," Davis said. "It's mind-boggling that Dr. Bynon was able to go in there and change data without anyone from Memorial Hermann noticing."
Bynon no longer oversees the transplant program, but Memorial Hermann said he's still affiliated with the hospital.
"Our top priority continues to be ensuring the continuity of compassionate care for our patients," the hospital said in a statement to ABC13.
ABC13 has also confirmed Bynon is still a professor of surgery at UTHealth Houston.
On Friday evening, Memorial Hermann sent a statement to ABC13:
"Memorial Hermann first became aware of issues within the liver transplant program on Friday, March 22, 2024, when we were informed by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) of inappropriate changes to the donor acceptance criteria within the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) transplant information database for patients awaiting a liver transplant at Memorial Hermann - TMC. At that time, we undertook an immediate investigation.
Within days, we inactivated our liver transplant program, and removed the physician responsible for making the inappropriate changes to the donor acceptance criteria within the UNOS transplant information database, Dr. Steve Bynon Jr., from his leadership role. Dr. Bynon is employed by UTHealth Houston as the director of the Division of Immunology and Solid Organ Transplantation and is affiliated with Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.
These inappropriate changes to the donor acceptance criteria are limited to the liver transplant program and did not impact any other transplant program. However, because there was a shared leadership structure over both the liver and kidney transplant programs, we made the difficult decision to voluntarily inactivate the kidney/pancreas transplant program and evaluate a new physician leadership structure.
In response to the CMS survey which took place in April 2024, we have implemented appropriate corrective action to ensure these issues cannot happen again. These changes include limiting access to UNet, expanded documentation requirements, two-person validation processes for data entry, and additional enhanced protections. The Transplant Quality Manager performs an audit, and the Transplant Oversight Committee reviews the process.
A recent survey by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Texas Health and Human Services of our abdominal transplant program noted that we had taken appropriate corrective action and are fully compliant.
Our top priority continues to be ensuring the continuity of compassionate care for our patients."
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