Not directly related to the article. Photo = Getty Image Bank
The story of a man in the United States who was declared brain dead and woke up just before his organs were harvested is shocking.
According to local media such as NPR on the 17th (local time), the main character of the story is Thomas TJ Huber II (36), a man who was transferred to Baptist Health Richmond Hospital in Kentucky, USA in October 2021.
He was taken to the hospital due to a drug overdose and was soon declared brain dead. During his lifetime, Hoover applied to donate his organs upon his death, so his family respected his wishes and agreed to donate his organs.
Hospital staff walk with the family as the brain-dead person is taken to the operating room for organ donation. At that moment, Huber’s older sister and legal guardian, Donna Rohrer, saw her brother appear to be moving on the bed. The family reported to the hospital that they thought he was alive, but after receiving the reply that it was a “common reflex,” they sent Huber to the operating room, despite their discomfort.
The problem occurred while Huber was lying down in the operating room and a cardiac catheterization test (a test to determine if he was healthy enough for a transplant) was being performed. Suddenly, Hoover started swinging his body. As the surprised medical staff approached him, he was visibly sobbing with tears streaming down his face.
A hospital official who was in the operating room at the time is causing great shock by claiming that the hospital tried to perform the surgery even though it knew that Hoover had been resuscitated.
Natasha Miller, a nurse who worked in organ preservation at the surgical hospital, said she also thought Huber appeared alive when he was moved from room to room.
Miller said, “The two doctors who performed the surgery refused to participate (after learning that Hoover was alive). When the case coordinator called the Kentucky Organ Donation Association (KODA) supervisor to inform him of the situation, the supervisor said, ‘You need to find another doctor to do (the surgery). We will take this case. “I was crying and screaming, ‘I need to find another doctor.’” Miller also claimed that he was sedated when Hoover moved.
In the end, the surgery was cancelled. There was clear evidence that Hoover was alive, so no further surgeries could be performed. The surgeon who was trying to remove the heart also left the operating room, saying, “I don’t want to be involved in this case anymore.”
The hospital later told Donna to take her younger brother home and told her that he would not live long, but Hoover is still alive three years later, despite suffering from aftereffects such as his ability to walk, speak, and memory.
In addition to Miller, who was present at the time, several KODA employees resigned as a result of this incident. Due to the shock of the incident, some employees received psychiatric treatment.
Nicoletta Martin, an organ preservation expert, is one of those who quit the job. He said that although he did not participate in the surgery in question, he left the company because he was afraid of being called for such surgery.
“I have devoted my entire life to organ donation and transplantation, but the fact that this is allowed and that there are no more measures in place to protect donors is a huge horror to me,” he said. “This incident is my worst nightmare. “Did you ever think that someone would cut you open and take out your body parts while you were still alive during surgery?” he said, shaking his head.
Some of the medical staff who participated in the surgery at the time became whistleblowers and submitted a letter about the incident to the U.S. House of Representatives hearing on organ procurement. KODA and the hospital are completely denying the related controversy.
When the incident became known, the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which oversees transplant organ procurement, and the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office began investigating the incident.
Regarding this incident, there are conflicting opinions in the American medical community, with those claiming that it is a one-time occurrence and that this incident should not be viewed as a problem for the entire system, and those claiming that this incident only produced extreme results, but similar incidents can easily occur. there is.
Reporter Seo Hee-won shw@etnews.com
