Kidney Registry Founder's Firm Paid Millions

The National Kidney Registry (NKR), a leading U.S. organization for matching living kidney donors with patients, has paid millions of dollars to a company owned by its founder. The NKR is a non-profit. It runs a complex system to find organ matches. It has successfully arranged thousands of life-saving transplants. Financial records show the NKR paid more than $65 million over ten years to a for-profit company called ITx. This company manages the NKR's computer systems. ITx is owned by Garet Hil, the NKR's founder. Experts say such arrangements in non-profits require strict oversight. This ensures that payments to a founder's company are fair and necessary. The NKR states all payments were for critical services at market rates. It says the system has saved many lives. The situation highlights how non-profits can financially benefit their founders through business deals.