Kentucky man wakes up before organ donation, sparks investigation

A Kentucky man who was pronounced brain dead and prepared for organ donation woke up before he was set to undergo the procedure, and the incident has sparked an investigation and led several people to quit their jobs.

Anthony Thomas “TJ” Hoover II, 36, woke up multiple times before he was scheduled to donate his organs in October 2021 in Richmond, Kentucky, Nyckoletta Martin, an organ preservationist with Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates who quit her job over the incident, told Paste BN.

"It was a big mess," Martin said.

During his honor walk, a "ceremony of respect where people gather in the halls of the hospital as a donor is moved to the room where the recovery surgery begins," according to Health and Resource Administration, he woke up and began tracking his family members with his eyes.

When his family noticed, they were told it was a normal reflex.

His sister, Donna Rhorer, "knew something was wrong because he was looking right at her," said Martin.

The organ procedure was called off and Hoover survived, though he suffers from brain damage and has minimal short-term memory, according to Martin.

"He's able to walk, he's able to feed himself, he talks if you ask him questions," said Martin. "He just can't remember a whole lot. So you can't really hold a conversation with him. But he's there, and he's really funny too."

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Organ preservationist: Hoover awake before surgery

Hoover woke up hours before the organ donation procedure was to take place, according to Martin.

While a cardiac catheterization was being performed to test if his heart was healthy enough to be donated, he woke up.

"He woke up in response to pain during that cardiac tap," she said. "Because when they go up through the arteries, it's really painful."

After he woke up, he was sedated.

"They shouldn't have given him any more medication," said Martin. "They should have just halted everything and took him back to the ICU at that point, but they didn't. So that's like the first red flag."

The test was done at 9 a.m., and the honor walk was supposed to happen the same day at around 4 p.m.

Family didn't know Hoover had woken up

Hoover was hospitalized at the Baptist Health Richmond’s emergency room on Oct. 25, 2021 because of a drug overdose, according to local news station WKYT and NPR.

He was in cardiac arrest for 35 minutes and pronounced brain dead, according to Martin.

While the hospital believed Hoover was brain dead, the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, KODA, treated him as a donation after a cardiac death case.

The day after he was admitted, his family was told that he did not show any brain activity, Rhorer said to WKYT. Hoover's family decided to take him off life support and were told he was a registered organ donor.

Rhorer did not find out about what happened to her brother when he was taken into the procedure room until Martin called her and told her in January this year, according to KPTV.

Paste BN has reached out to the hospital for comment but has not heard back yet.

Doctors walk out after signs of life shown

Two doctors were present when Hoover began to show signs of life before the procedure in the afternoon and refused to proceed.

"They both said absolutely not, and just kind of walked out," said Martin.

An onsite coordinator called KODA regarding the situation and told them what happened.

"I think she just expected them to say, 'Well, OK, let's take him back to the ICU and cancel the case,'" said Martin. "But they instead pressured her to find another surgeon to, you know, finish the case, or she would get fired."

The coordinator, who Martin did not name, quit the same day.

"It's important to understand that KODA had multiple opportunities to do the right thing," said Martin.

Martin and another person involved in the case also quit because of the situation.

"Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) do not declare death; we only proceed with organ recovery after an independent healthcare provider has officially declared the patient deceased," said KODA in a statement that was emailed to Paste BN. "Organ donation is a life-saving procedure, and we remain dedicated to providing accurate information and maintaining the public’s trust in the donation and transplant system."

The organization said it cannot comment on specific details regarding Hoover's case but is "fully cooperating" with the agencies investigating the incident.

Organ preservationist said she was fired after sending letter to Congress

Martin, who said she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after her experience working with KODA, wrote a letter to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee about being pressured to collect organs from a person who was still alive, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Her letter was discussed during a hearing the committee held Sept. 11 titled, “A Year Removed: Oversight of Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act Implementation.”

After the hearing, she said she was fired from her job with Paragonix, which specializes in making coolers used to transport donated organs.

The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office is also looking into the incident.

“Our Office has been in contact with advocates and members of Kentucky’s federal delegation regarding this horrific allegation," Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said in a statement that was emailed to Paste BN. "In collaboration with our Kentucky law enforcement and prosecutorial partners, we will continue reviewing the facts to identify an appropriate response.”

This story was updated with new information and to clarify the man's status.