List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Nov. 4, 2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
The Business of Body Parts was published with a sidebar titled, “Nonprofit, its CEO and board members dabble in real estate.” Mid-America Transplant Services is a non-profit charitable organization that acts increasingly like a for-profit enterprise. It sells human body parts and tissue for financial gain, and harbors potential conflicts of interest. Its director and board members have investments in the same biotechnology and real estate ventures where Mid-America has poured some of its excess tax-exempt cash. For instance, Mid-America supplies cartilage from dead children to a biotech start-up that Mid-America and its executives have invested in. Mid-America’s donor consent form does not disclose its financial ties to certain for-profit and non-profit firms with whom it does business.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Form 990 tax filings for Mid-America and other organ procurement centers; Mid-America’s audited financial statements; Mid-America’s conflict of interest policy; local property tax records; federal and state statutes and regulations on organ transplantation; Missouri, Illinois and Colorado secretary of state filings; federal tax code and filing instructions; litigation records; SEC records; medical journal articles; Mid-America donation consent forms; Dept. of Health and Human Services inspection records; land development proposals; Dept. of Health & Human Services inspector general reports. No FOI requests were made.
Explain types of human sources used.
Legal, medical and business ethicists; executives and board members at Mid-America and several other transplant organizations; family members of organ donors and recipients; and physicians involved in the organ transplant industry.
Results:
The article and sidebar prompted a public discussion about end-of-life care and a strong response among the Post-Dispatch’s print edition and internet readers, many of whom posted online comments and submitted letters to the editor.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No follow-ups yet. No corrections or clarifications have been issued.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Prepare exhaustively for key interviews so that you ‘re ready to ask the most telling questions. Listen closely to an interviewee’s responses so that you can ask the most specific follow-up questions. Use visual representations to chart out the inter-relationships of companies and their executives. Look beyond the simplistic messages that company officials spin, and explore their motivations in structuring business relationships and deals. Trust your investigative instincts, and search for proof of your hunches.