A man who had been declared brain dead after a cardiac arrest woke up while surgeons were in the middle of retrieving his organs for donation, his family has told US media. The case of Anthony Thomas 'TJ' Hoover II, from Kentucky, is now being investigated by state and federal officials.
According to reports from National Public Radio and the Kentucky station WKYT, Mr Hoover was admitted to Baptist Health hospital in Richmond in October 2021 after a drug overdose. Doctors told his sister, Donna Rhorer, that he had no reflexes or brain activity, and the family agreed to remove him from life support. They were informed that Mr Hoover had previously consented to organ donation.
Ms Rhorer said she noticed her brother's eyes open and appear to track loved ones, but was told it was only a reflex. About an hour into surgery to retrieve his organs, a doctor emerged and said Mr Hoover 'wasn't ready'. The family took him home, where he has remained for three years, struggling to walk, remember and talk.
The full details of what happened in the operating theatre only emerged in January, when a former employee of the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (Koda) contacted Ms Rhorer and later sent a letter to a congressional committee. The letter described Mr Hoover 'thrashing' on the table and 'crying visibly', according to NPR.
Baptist Health said in a statement that patient safety was its 'highest priority' and that it works closely with families to ensure donation wishes are followed. Koda said the case had 'not been accurately represented', that it has never retrieved organs from living patients and that no one had been pressured to do so. The state attorney general's office and a federal agency overseeing organ procurement are investigating.
Ms Rhorer defended her decision to speak publicly, saying it would be worth it if it gave another family courage or saved a life. 'In my heart of hearts, I knew something went on, but I compared it to David and Goliath,' she said.
