Doctors were left 'horrified' after almost taking the organs out of an alive man who had been declared dead.
Anthony Thomas 'TJ' Hoover II, 36, was rushed hospital in Richmond, Kentucky, because of a drug overdose in October 2021, his sister Donna Rhorer told NPR.
After being presumed dead, Rhorer began asking questions as TJ appeared to open his eyes and look around as he was taken from the ICU to the operating room.
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"It was like it was his way of letting us know, you know, ‘Hey, I’m still here,’" Donna said.
The sister and fellow family members claimed they were told that this was simply a reflex which is common in the aftermath of someone passing away.
Natasha Miller was tasked with preserving the organs for transplantation.
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And while TJ was pronounced dead, Miller quickly came to the conclusion the patient was still alive.
She told NPR: "He was moving around - kind of thrashing. Like, moving, thrashing around on the bed. And then when we went over there, you could see he had tears coming down. He was crying visibly."
Miller continued: "The procuring surgeon, he was like, ‘I’m out of it. I don’t want to have anything to do with it'.
"So the coordinator calls the supervisor at the time. And she was saying that he was telling her that she needed to ‘find another doctor to do it’ - that, 'We were going to do this case. She needs to find someone else'.
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"And she’s like, ‘There is no one else.’ She’s crying - the coordinator - because she’s getting yelled at."
The organ retrieval was subsequently canceled.
Some workers reportedly quit after the October 2021 incident, including Nyckoletta Martin.
She told the outlet: "I’ve dedicated my entire life to organ donation and transplant. It’s very scary to me now that these things are allowed to happen and there’s not more in place to protect donors."
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The organ preservationist, who wasn't working in the operating room that day, recalled how she was shocked after learning about the signs of life when medics reportedly tried to examine TJ's heart.
"The donor had woken up during his procedure that morning for a cardiac catheterization. And he was thrashing around on the table," Martin added.
"Being alive during surgery and knowing that someone is going to cut you open and take your body parts out? That’s horrifying."
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And the hospital and organ procurement organization have since spoken out about the incident.
Baptist Health Richmond said in a statement to UNILAD: "The safety of our patients is always our highest priority. We work closely with our patients and their families to ensure our patients’ wishes for organ donation are followed."
Organ procurement organization Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) told NPR that while TJ was assigned to the operating room for the case, it 'has not been accurately represented'.
In a statement Julie Bergin, president and chief operating officer for Network for Hope, which formed when KODA joined with the LifeCenter Organ Donor Network, said: “No one at KODA has ever been pressured to collect organs from any living patient.
“KODA does not recover organs from living patients. KODA has never pressured its team members to do so.”
TJ now lives with his sister, who acts as his legal guardian.
Callum Jones