‘Dead’ organ donor comes ‘back to life thrashing around on operating table moments before docs prepared to remove heart’

WITNESSES have described the horrifying moment a man allegedly came back from the dead as surgeons prepared to harvest his organs.

Thomas 'TJ' Hoover II from Kentucky reportedly started crying and "thrashing" around on the operating table as doctors tested his heart health for transplantation.

In October 2021, Hoover suffered from a drug overdose and after being rushed to the Baptist Health Richmond Hospital he was later declared dead.

The 36-year-old was then wheeled to an operating room to test his suitability for organ donation which included a cardiac catheterization.

However, his sister and witnesses from the hospital have detailed the moment he allegedly regained consciousness as surgeons tried to examine his heart.

"He was moving around — kind of thrashing. Like, moving, thrashing around on the bed," Natasha Miller, an organ transplant doctor told .

"And then when we went over there, you could see he had tears coming down. He was crying visibly."

However, officials from Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates who coordinated the transplant have denied that the incident took place.

Miller, whose job it is to preserve the organs that are being donated, described the alleged chaos that ensued as doctors immediately pulled out of the organ retrieval.

"The procuring surgeon, he was like, 'I’m out of it. I don’t want to have anything to do with it,'" Miller claimed.

"It was very chaotic. Everyone was just very upset."

She claimed that when her colleague phoned KODA, a supervisor allegedly said that they were "going to this case" anyway and instructed the hospital to "find another doctor."

Hoover's sister Donna Rhorer has also claimed that she knew something was not right when her brother was being taken from the intensive care unit.

He appeared to open his eyes and look around, she has alleged.

"It was like it was his way of letting us know, you know, 'Hey, I'm still here,'" she said.

However, when Rhorer and fellow family members mentioned it to doctors, they were reportedly told it was a common reflex.

Miller's colleague Nyckoletta Martin who reviewed case notes in case she was drafted into the operating room called it "everybody's worst nightmare."

I feel betrayed by the fact that the people that were telling us he was brain dead, and then he wakes up...they're trying to play God.

Donna RhorerHoover's sister

"Being alive during surgery and knowing that someone is going to cut you open and take your body parts out? That's horrifying."

After the organ transplantation was called off, numerous workers allegedly quit and Martin claimed that many needed therapy as the impact of watching the incident "took its toll."

HOSPITAL RESPONDS

In response to the claims, the president and chief operating officer for Network for Hope has denied the incident.

"No one at KODA has ever been pressured to collect organs from any living patient," she told NPR.

"KODA does not recover organs from living patients. KODA has never pressured its team members to do so."

The hospital has also insisted that "the safety of our patients is always our highest priority." 

"We work closely with our patients and their families to ensure our patient's wishes for organ donation are followed," a spokesperson told NPR.

An investigation into the alleged incident has been launched by the Kentucky Attorney General and the US Health Services Resources Administration. 

"Our Office has been in contact with advocates and members of Kentucky’s federal delegation regarding this horrific allegation. In collaboration with our Kentucky law enforcement and prosecutorial partners, we will continue reviewing the facts to identify an appropriate response," Attorney General Russell Coleman told The Sun.

HSRA which plays a role in overseeing organ procurement told NPR that is it "investigating these allegations."

Meanwhile, Hoover's sister is now his legal guardian as he struggles with his memory as well as with walking and talking.

"I feel betrayed by the fact that the people that were telling us he was brain dead, and then he wakes up...they're trying to play God," she claimed.

"They're almost, you know, picking and choosing - they're going to take this person to save these people and you kind of lose your faith in humanity a little bit."

The Sun reached out to the Baptist Health Richmond Hospital for comment and received the following statement:

"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."

Meanwhile, an HRSA spokesperson told The Sun:

"The Department of Health and Human Services is committed to protecting the safety and integrity of the organ donation and transplantation process for all patients.

"We recognize and value the difficult decisions that patients and families have to make in these life-saving decisions, and agencies across the Department take appropriate action to investigate any allegation of wrongdoing.

"The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is limited in the information it can share publicly while an investigation may be open or ongoing to preserve the integrity of the investigative process.

"HRSA, through the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), is investigating these allegations.

"We are unable to comment further at this time."