'This was one body that they couldn't get': Family's fight over organ donation raises questions
Oct 30, 2026
A New Jersey family says it spent two days fighting to prevent the harvesting of a loved one's organs after his death, raising questions about how organ donor registrations are updated and maintained.
Keith Lott, of Swedesboro, died in May after suffering a brain aneurysm.
According to his family, Lott had previously been an organ donor but removed himself from New Jersey's donor registry after converting to Islam, believing he had withdrawn his consent.
https://6abc.com/post/nj-familys-fight-organ-donation-raises-questions-was-body-couldnt-get/19996458/
A New Jersey family says they found themselves in a fight over
their loved one's body after he unexpectedly died back in May.
It came after a non-profit claimed it had the right to his organs.
Well, the case is raising questions about how you can get
on and off an organ donation list.
The family of the deceased first came to Action News with their story.
Investigative reporter Chappardelli has more.
The Swedesboro man had been an organ donor at one point,
but after converting to Islam,
he removed himself from the list in New Jersey, or so he thought so.
This led to a two-day fight inside Cooper Hospital
to keep his body intact and ready
for a proper burial as required by his faith.
Machines were keeping Keith Lott alive in May
after a brain aneurysm.
They ran tests for the next 72 hours and then came to the conclusion
on Tuesday, May 19th, that
he was braindead
The lot say representatives with the New Jersey Sharing Network,
an organ harvesting non-profit,
approached them almost immediately and said the body was theirs
and his organs would be harvested.
I apologize to the Sharing Network,
to those families that are in need, but unfortunately
this was one body that they couldn't get.
They say an argument erupted and the New Jersey Sharing
Network threatened legal action and told them
while Keith Lott changed his designation with
with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission in 2025.
It was not enough. He had to go
to the National Registry to remove himself.
It's an incentive for a person to do it.
Not true, says New Jersey State Senator Paul Moriarty,
who says the nonprofit did not have an updated donor list,
which the Motor Vehicle Commission tells
the investigative team is updated in real time and available.
It's just unconscionable. It's sloppy. It's not professional.
And I don't think people know this.
We will get back to the senator in a moment.
There's a systemic problem.
Greg Siegel is the founder of Organize,
a non-profit which works to make organ donation safer.
He calls organ donation big business, with roughly only 50
or so organ procurement organizations around the country.
OPOs are federally designated non-profits that coordinate organ
donation between hospitals, donors, and transplant centers.
The New Jersey Sharing Network and Gift of Life operate in our area.
Gift of Life released a statement saying, in part,
Cooper Hospital is not part of its network.
The lots say Cooper Hospital was nothing but helpful,
but their hands were tied.
Siegel believes enrolling in organ donation lacks transparency.
It also doesn't tell you that you're donating not just your organs,
but your skin, your tissue, your bones, your cornea.
They don't tell you that that can be sold internationally
to for-profit companies for cosmetic testing.
On Tuesday, a family sued the nonprofit,
alleging it pressured them to donate tissue and bones for such use,
and misled and misinformed them on the consequences.
The lawsuit says during an open casket viewing,
their loved one was unrecognizable.
The skin on his back was completely missing,
and part of the body was flat and deflated.
The investigative team has learned
the New Jersey Sharing Network is also the target.
...of a congressional investigation
by the House Ways and Means Committee
for allegations of fraud, undue pressure on families,
and other potential violations of law.
And the New Jersey Attorney General's Office says it's
also investigating the allegations.
And after days of fighting inside Cooper Hospital...
They lack compassion, morality...
Keith Lott's niece, Blake Lott, an intern in Moriarty's office,
got the state senator involved who says after he made some calls,
the New Jersey Sharing Network backed off
and Keith received a proper burial without his organs being harvested.
We need to better inform the public about what this means, and we need
to hold these organ procurement organizations more accountable.
And Moriarty has since introduced a bill that would require OPOs
to have the most updated state and national registries.
He's also working on bills
that would require more details about organ donation at sign-up
and give people options to donate just parts or all of their body.
The New Jersey Sharing Network has
not replied to numerous requests for comment.
I'm Investigative Reporter Chappardelli, Channel 6 Action News.