Hospitals Allegedly Allowing Wealthy Foreigners To Cut Organ Transplant Waiting Lists

House Republicans are launching a congressional investigation into two major U.S. hospital systems amid allegations they allowed wealthy foreign patients to bypass American organ transplant waiting lists, potentially costing American patients their lives.

Reps. Jason Smith of Missouri and David Schweikert of Arizona, who are leading the House Ways and Means Committee’s oversight effort, sent letters Tuesday to the University of Chicago Medical Center and Montefiore Medical Center in New York demanding records by Feb. 10. The lawmakers warned that subpoenas would follow if the hospitals fail to comply.

The investigation stems from allegations first reported by The New York Times that the tax-exempt hospitals transplanted organs donated by Americans into foreign nationals who traveled to the United States specifically to receive transplants. Smith and Schweikert said the reported practices may have allowed noncitizens to jump ahead of U.S. patients on transplant waiting lists, where more than 100,000 Americans remain and thousands die each year waiting for life-saving organs.

Smith said the allegations cut to the heart of what tax-exempt hospitals are expected to provide in return for substantial public benefits.

“If U.S. hospitals who enjoy lucrative taxpayer-funded benefits have prioritized foreign nationals for organ transplants over saving American lives, they should have their tax-exempt status terminated,” Smith said. “America First means prioritizing American lives, not your bottom line.”

In their letter to University of Chicago Medical Center President Thomas Jackiewicz, lawmakers said they were alarmed by data showing foreign patients accounted for roughly 11 percent of the hospital’s heart and lung transplants. Between 2020 and 2024, 61 international patients reportedly received organs at the facility — more than at any other U.S. hospital.

The letter cited cases in which foreign patients allegedly received organs within days, while American patients waited significantly longer. One case involved a wealthy Japanese woman who reportedly received a heart transplant just three days after being placed on the waiting list after an exception boosted her priority. The patient was described as a self-pay international recipient, and a charity founded by her husband later donated money to a nonprofit connected to the transplant surgeon’s family.

“The case raised alarms among transplant experts and has drawn scrutiny because it suggests that wealth, connections, and post-transplant charitable giving may have intersected with access to a scarce organ,” the lawmakers wrote.

Smith and Schweikert also questioned whether the University of Chicago Medical Center violated its obligations as a tax-exempt institution by allegedly contracting with foreign governments to provide transplant services to non-U.S. patients.

“Contracting with a foreign government to provide these crucial services to foreign nationals over American citizens raises serious questions as to the nature of the community benefit that you are providing in order to maintain your tax-exempt status,” the letter stated.

A separate letter to Montefiore Medical Center President and CEO Philip O. Ozuah raised similar concerns. Lawmakers cited reporting that approximately 20 percent of Montefiore’s lung transplant recipients were overseas patients, generating tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the hospital.

The letter alleged Montefiore promoted transplant services abroad by advertising short wait times and concierge-style care, while whistleblowers claimed international patients received preferential treatment. According to the lawmakers, one former transplant financial coordinator told The New York Times that American patients were routinely pushed aside, saying, “[W]e had patients who we’d been working with, who had been waiting their turn, and then someone from Kuwait would come and jump the line.”

“Montefiore’s decision to provide foreign nationals with this critical service — and preferential treatment over American citizens — in return for massive payments far exceeding the market rate is completely inappropriate,” the lawmakers wrote.

Smith and Schweikert emphasized that roughly 5,600 Americans die each year while waiting for an organ transplant. The document requests come amid a broader congressional investigation into the U.S. organ transplant system.

Schweikert said the inquiry has already yielded results, including the Trump administration’s decision to decertify a Miami-based organ procurement organization. He added that testimony at a December hearing revealed “shocking stories of organ donations gone terribly wrong,” underscoring the need for greater transparency and accountability in the nation’s transplant system.

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