LEXINGTON, Ky. — The federal government is moving to decertify Network for Hope, a Kentucky-based organ procurement organization, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced during a visit to the University of Kentucky.

Kennedy made the announcement according to WUKY 91.3 FM. The decertification process would sever the federal government's relationship with the nonprofit organization, which plays a role in coordinating organ donation and transplantation efforts across its service area.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a division of HHS, maintains oversight of organ procurement organizations operating in the United States. Decertification represents a significant regulatory action that would remove an organization's federal authorization to coordinate organ procurement and allocation activities.

Kennedy's appearance at the university highlighted what administration officials say is a broader effort to reform practices within the organ transplantation system. The decertification of Network for Hope marks a notable action taken by the HHS under Kennedy's leadership since his appointment as health secretary.

Network for Hope has served as one of Kentucky's organ procurement organizations, working with hospitals, donor families, and recipients to facilitate life-saving organ transplants. The organization's decertification could have significant implications for organ donation coordination in the state and the broader region it serves.

Further details about the specific reasons for the decertification and the timeline for the process were not immediately disclosed during Kennedy's announcement.