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US moves to shut a Kentucky organ donation group, citing safety failures. FILE - Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) Posted 11:21 AM, Aug 06, 2026 The Trump administration said Wednesday it will shut down a Kentucky organ donation group accused of continuing plans for organ retrieval from some patients who unexpectedly showed signs of life. While those surgeries were canceled, the cases made headlines several years ago, prompting a spike in people around the country revoking their organ donor registrations. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the nonprofit Network for Hope "a bad apple" and accused it of "persistent safety failures" in announcing the government was starting the process to decertify it. Network for Hope is one of about 55 organ procurement organizations, or OPOs, that coordinate the recovery of organs from deceased donors and help match them to patients on the nation's transplant list. In a statement, Network for Hope said it "strongly disagrees" with Kennedy's decision and will appeal. Among the allegations is that in 2021, Network for Hope's predecessor organization pressured a local hospital to proceed with plans to withdraw life support and retrieve organs from a man despite signs that he was waking up from a drug overdose. The man survived and his sister joined Kennedy at a press briefing Wednesday, thanking him. OPOs cannot declare if someone is dead - only a doctor at the hospital treating the person can do that. Only after that declaration can a donor agency assume responsibility for the deceased, looking for potential recipients and scheduling surgeons to come in to retrieve the organs. Most donations come from people declared brain-dead. But sometimes doctors say a patient has a nonsurvivable injury and the family decides to withdraw life support - and in certain circumstances, that also can allow for donation. In its statement, Network for Hope said it complies with all federal organ policies. It said that over a year ago it implemented a "first-of-its-kind" new safeguard allowing anyone - including health professionals or family members - to call a pause in donation planning if there's any concern the patient won't be appropriate. Kentucky recently passed a law mandating that pause and the federal Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network is working on new rules that also would require all the nation's OPOs to implement it. More than 100,000 people are on the U.S. transplant list, the vast majority seeking a kidney, and thousands will die waiting for a new organ. There were more than 49,000 transplants last year, a record despite a small drop in donations from the deceased - the first such dip in a decade. UC Health issued the following statement Thursday: "UC Health remains committed to providing the highest-quality, safest care for its patients and to maintaining the integrity of the organ donation and transplantation process. Like many health systems across the region, UC Health partners with Network for Hope as one of its organ procurement partners support organ donation and transplant services. Because UC Health works with multiple organ procurement partners. Wcpo-tv do not anticipate any significant disruption to patient care or transplant services at this time. Wcpo-tv understand Network for Hope intends to appeal the decertification decision. Wcpo-tv will continue to monitor developments while working closely with its transplant partners and meeting all applicable regulatory requirements. Its focus remains on providing safe, high-quality care and ensuring patients awaiting lifesaving transplants continue to receive the care they need." Marketplace. Powered by

Landon Steiner added to coaching staff. July 31, 2026 Steiner comes to UC from Midway University, will serve as assistant pitching coach CINCINNATI - Landon Steiner has accepted a position with the University of Cincinnati baseball coaching staff, head coach Jordan Bischel announced on Friday. He will serve as the program's assistant pitching coach. Steiner comes to Cincinnati from Midway University, where he served as the program's pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. "Landon brings almost a decade of successful coaching experience on the pitching side to our staff," Bischel said. "While his focus will be on pitching development, he is a global thinker who will help all aspects of our program and have a significant role in our recruiting efforts." A Lexington, Ky. native, Steiner spent the last two seasons at Midway. He helped mentor pitcher Tyler Pyles this past season to an All-America recognition, the first in the history of Midway baseball. Pyles posted an 8-1 record across 13 starts and a 2.00 ERA and held opposing hitters to a .175 batting average. "I'm honored to join the University of Cincinnati baseball program and grateful to Coach Bischel for this opportunity," Steiner said. "This is a program with tremendous tradition and even more potential, and I can't wait to get to work with these student-athletes both on the field and in the classroom. I am looking forward to continuing to build onto the projection of where this program is trending. Go Bearcats!" Steiner spent time on staff at Morehead State prior to his time at Midway and was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Transylvania University before that, spending four seasons with the Pioneers. At Transylvania, he mentored two All-Americans, six ABCA All-Region players, and 11 all-conference performers. Steiner was a part of Transylvania's 2021 HCAC Championship team that earned the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament win after returning to the postseason for the first time in 13 years. Prior to that, Steiner spent two seasons with the Asheboro Copperheads of the Coastal Plains League as the team's hitting coach. He coached six Coastal Plains League All-Stars during his two years with the team, and in 2019 the team slugged a club-record 50 home runs. Steiner played collegiately at Southeastern Community College (N.C.) as a two-way player. After a season a Southeastern, Steiner transferred to Winston-Salem State University. As a junior in 2016, he led the team in batting average and was an All-CIAA First Team performer, leading the team with a .359 batting average and six home runs. His senior year in which he hit .341 with six homers, won a conference title, and earned another First Team All-CIAA conference selection. He graduated from WSSU with a bachelor's degree in sports management. FOLLOW THE BEARCATS