In 2021, in the United States, TJ Hoover, 36, was declared brain dead after an overdose. As he undergoes surgery to remove his organs, doctors realize that he is still alive. Health professionals are now sounding the alarm.
Back from the dead. A 36-year-old American man who was, according to doctors, brain dead, suddenly woke up in the middle of an organ donation surgery in 2021. While several years have passed since then, several witnesses, who worked in the organ procurement center at the time, took the stand to ask that the procedure in place be re-examined, American media revealed this week.
On October 25, 2021, Anthony Thomas “TJ” Hoover II was admitted to the emergency room of a Kentucky hospital after overdosing. He quickly suffered a cardiac arrest and his condition was declared critical by medical staff.
His sister Donna Rhorer stands, worried, at his bedside. “On October 26, we were told that he no longer had any reflexes or brain activity,” she recalled, speaking to local channel WKYT. TJ is declared brain dead.
The next day, the Hoover family has to make a difficult decision and decides to disconnect the life support machine used by TJ. It was only then that she learned that the thirty-year-old had decided, years earlier, to register on the list of potential organ donors.
Medical tests carried out before the operation
Medical tests are conducted to ensure that his organs are viable for transplantation. Cardiac tests are notably carried out, without the medical staff visibly noting anything strange.
TJ’s sister also shares a surprising anecdote. While she is next to her brother, TJ “opens her eyes” and begins to “follow with her gaze” those around her.
“We were told that it was just reflexes, that it was normal,” she confides, insisting that she said nothing. “Who are we to doubt the medical staff?” she blurted. His brother is taken to the operating table as planned.
“The doctor told us he had woken up.”
But after an hour of intervention, the doctor abruptly leaves the operating room. “He told us that (TJ) was not ready. That he had woken up,” confides Donna Rhorer.
“But what we were not told was that (TJ) had already woken up during the cardiac catheterization he had undergone in the morning,” she is indignant.
After this unexpected awakening, the doctors advise Donna to take her brother home and take care of him. However, they assure him that the thirty-year-old will probably not live long.
Three years later, TJ is still alive, with some difficulty walking or speaking, but Donna does not hide her anger. “He made several attempts that day to tell us: ‘I’m here’. But we ignored him. They finally stopped the operation because he showed too many signs of life,” he said indignantly. -she.
“Chaotic”
Last January, Nyckoletta Martin, who was an employee at the organ donation center, decided to contact Donna Rhorer. While she is still scarred by this episode, she wants to confide to TJ’s sister how things really happened.
Nyckoletta Martin was participating in the thirty-year-old’s operation when she said she noticed “that he was moving”. “He was moving around a little bit on the bed,” she told NPR radio.
“And then when we looked at him, you could see there were tears coming down. He was clearly crying,” she recalled. Nyckoletta Martin indicates that the two doctors then panicked and refused to perform the operation.
“The surgeon said: ‘I’m stopping. I don’t want anything to do with it,'” says the American. “It was really chaotic, everyone was very unhappy.”
Several resignations
When Donna Rhorer learned all these details, only two and a half years after the events, she finally had confirmation that the operation had several failures.
“All I had was my instinct telling me that everything didn’t happen as we were told,” she says.
Since this episode, Nyckoletta Martin confides having resigned and even having undergone therapy. Other employees followed her, shocked by this incident which could have taken a dramatic turn.
“I have dedicated my whole life to organ donation and transplantation. It is very frightening for me today to think that these things happen and that we do not protect donors better,” explains -She.
“It’s everyone’s nightmare, right? Being alive during an operation and knowing that someone is going to cut you open and remove your organs? It’s horrible,” she said.
Allegations under investigation
Since then, other testimonies have been made public, questioning the organ donation procedure. These people were heard in September before the Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee.
After these revelations, the Kentucky general office as well as the federal health administrative services ensure that they are “studying these allegations”.
“The health of our patients is always our priority. We work with our patients and their families to ensure that their wish to donate their organs is fulfilled,” declared the Kentucky hospital which welcomed TJ Hoover.
The organization in charge of organ harvesting assures that it has “never forced anyone to donate organs” and “never harvests organs from living people”.
