The United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas announced on February 5, 2026 that 66-year-old Houston physician John Stevenson Bynon Jr. has been charged with falsifying medical records which made potential transplant recipients ineligible for organ donations.
According to the indictment, Bynon was Director of Abdominal Organ Transplantation and Surgical Director for Liver Transplantation at Memorial Hermann Health System’s Texas Medical Center in Houston. Under his care, patients were allegedly activated on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) liver transplant waitlist while awaiting an organ donation.
The charges allege that even though patients should have been able to receive donations through UNOS, Bynon made false statements in their medical records which rendered them functionally ineligible for a donation. Patients, their families, and other members of their medical care team, were unaware of the false information, according to court documents. Many patients allegedly remained ineligible for months without knowing they could not receive donor organ offers during that time.
The indictment further alleges that due to Bynon’s unilateral decision making and false statements, which were unknown to other care providers, patients continued receiving health care benefits, items and services that Medicare paid as if they were eligible to receive donor organ offers.
Some of Bynon’s patients had dire health outcomes. The indictment alleges two others sought care at alternate facilities following the discovery of the alleged false statements and ultimately received organ transplants.
The Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Houston Field Office stated with regard to the indictment: “Ultimately, at the center of this case are vulnerable patients who hung their hope of survival on a nationally renowned surgeon now federally charged for manipulating their medical records. Dr. Bynon is accused of manipulating the criteria of patients on organ transplant waiting lists, thereby allegedly manipulating the patients’ chance of survival. Today’s indictment makes it clear that the FBI will investigate allegations of patient harm regardless of how reputable and respected the practitioner is or the hospital system they work for.”
U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei stated: “Dr. Bynon is alleged to have betrayed the most sacred duty of a medical professional—to heal. According to the indictment, he stole years and hope from those who trusted him most by falsifying records and preventing patients from receiving organ transplants. Rest assured, the Southern District of Texas will continue to seek justice for every victim in this case.”
Bynon is charged with five counts of making false statements in health care matters. If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine upon each conviction.
If you or a loved one suffered serious injury or other harms as a result of medical negligence involving an organ transplant in the United States, you should promptly consult with a transplant malpractice lawyer in your state who may investigate your organ transplant malpractice claim for you and represent you in an organ medical malpractice transplant case, if appropriate.
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