The operation of a man prepared for organ donation was interrupted in a gruesome way in the United States: “He woke up” –

Anthony “TJ” Hoover of Kentucky was declared brain dead and was being prepared for an organ donation operation. However, the man woke up in the middle of the operation. Mostphotos

Anthony Thomas ”TJ” Hoover got into a shocking situation in the hospital when he was about to be operated on for organ donation.

Hoover’s sister Donna Rhorer told Kentucky’s WKTY how her brother was hospitalized in October 2021 for a drug overdose.

The symptoms indicated a cardiac arrest, and the family was told the next day that Hoover no longer had reflexes or brain function, Rhorer recalled.

Hoover’s family decided to terminate the man’s life support. He was registered as an organ donor, and the family wanted to honor Hoover’s wishes.

Woke up in the middle of an operation

In the following days, tests were performed on the man’s organs to ensure that they would be suitable for organ donation. Among other things, heart catheterization was one of the procedures.

– We took TJ for the last “walk of honor” before the operation. In the middle of the walk, however, he opened his eyes and observed his surroundings. The doctors said it’s just a reflex and completely normal. Who is going to question that? Rhorer says.

Hoover was taken to the operating room. After about an hour, the doctor came to tell the family that he was not ready for the operation.

– He woke up.

Hoover’s family was also told that he had been awake during the cardiac catheterization process.

– If we had known that he was awake, we would have known that he is not brain dead.

“Your brother won’t live long”

Rhorer took his brother home. He was told that Hoover would not live long. Rhorer has now taken care of his brother for three years.

– He tried to tell us several times that he is still present. He was ignored. The operation was stopped only when he started showing too many vital signs.

The details of the botched operation were revealed only in January of this year, when someone who worked at Kentucky Organ Donation Services (Koda) at the time of Hoover’s operation Nyccoletta Martin was in contact with Rhorer. Later, a letter about the case was sent to a congressional subcommittee, revealing shocking details about the Hoover affair.

Hoover flopped recklessly on the operating table, tears welling up in his eyes.

The hospital that treated Hoover said patient safety was their number one priority. The hospital said that it works in close cooperation with the patient’s relatives if the patient’s wish was to become an organ donor.

Koda told National Public Radio in his statement that the Hoover case has not been presented truthfully. The organization never harvests organs from living patients, and no one has ever been pressured to do so, Koda stated.

The Hoover case is currently under federal investigation.

Sources: The Guardian, WKYT, NPR