Man Wakes Up on Operating Table Moments Before Having Organs Removed

“That’s everybody’s worst nightmare, right?" said organ preservationist Nyckoletta Martin. "Being alive during surgery and knowing that someone is going to cut you open"

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Anthony Thomas “TJ” Hoover II, was admitted to the Baptist Health Richmond Hospital in October 2021 following a drug overdose and was later pronounced dead. His sister, Donna Rhorer, told NPR that she notified medical staff that the 36-year-old was a registered organ donor.

However, during his “honor walk” — being wheeled to the operating room for organ donation while surrounded by loved ones and hospital staff — Rhorer and other family members expressed concern when Hoover appeared to open his eyes.

“It was like it was his way of letting us know, ‘Hey, I’m still here,’ ” she told the outlet, noting that staff told the family it was just a common reflex. Rhorer documented the emotional moment, which she later shared on TikTok.

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Natasha Miller was in the operating room when Hoover was wheeled in for the organ retrieval surgery. Her job involves preserving donated organs for transplantation. She told the outlet that after seeing the patient, she immediately knew something was wrong and he didn’t appear dead.

“He was moving around — kind of thrashing. Like, moving, thrashing around on the bed,” she claimed. “And then when we went over there, you could see he had tears coming down. He was crying visibly.”

Miller explained that Hoover’s condition alarmed everyone in the room, including two doctors who allegedly said they no longer felt comfortable participating in the organ retrieval and refused to continue.

“The procuring surgeon, he was like, ‘I’m out of it. I don’t want to have anything to do with it,’ ” she recalled. “It was very chaotic. Everyone was just very upset.”

Miller alleges that her supervisor was instructed by the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) to “find another doctor” to perform the surgery and proceed with the organ retrieval. She also claims that Hoover was sedated after his movements.

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The procedure was ultimately canceled. “They finally stopped the procedure because he was showing too many signs of life,” Rhorer said, adding that she took her brother back home and was told to make him comfortable because he wouldn’t live long.

Three years later, Hoover is still alive and being cared for by his sister as he has difficulty with walking, talking and memory.

A number of KODA workers say they quit over the October 2021 incident, including another organ preservationist, Nyckoletta Martin.

“I’ve dedicated my entire life to organ donation and transplant. It’s very scary to me now that these things are allowed to happen and there’s not more in place to protect donors,” she told NPR.

Martin, alongside other witnesses, has now come forward to testify about what happened during the organ retrieval process. In September, she shared details about the alleged incident in a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which held a hearing investigating organ procurement organizations.

“Several of us that were employees needed to go to therapy. It took its toll on a lot of people, especially me,” Martin said.

“That’s everybody’s worst nightmare, right? Being alive during surgery and knowing that someone is going to cut you open and take your body parts out?” she added. “That’s horrifying.”

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KODA has since denied the allegations, claiming in a statement that “this case has not been accurately represented.”

“No one at KODA has ever been pressured to collect organs from any living patient,” Julie Bergin — president and chief operating officer for Network for Hope, which was formed when KODA merged with the LifeCenter Organ Donor Network — said in a statement, NPR reports. “KODA does not recover organs from living patients. KODA has never pressured its team members to do so.”

The organization did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which helps oversee organ procurement, and the Kentucky state attorney general’s office said that they are investigating the allegations.

An open letter from the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations addressed the incident.

“Our organ donation and transplant system is powered entirely by trust, and the American public should feel confident when they register as donors that their gifts will be respected and honored,” said Dorrie Dils, President of AOPO.

She later told NPR that incidents like this are “alarming” and should be properly reported and evaluated.

“Obviously we want to ensure that individuals are, in fact, dead when organ donation is proceeding,” Dils said. “And we want the public to trust that that is indeed happening. The process is sacred.”

Rhorer admitted that she often feels angry about how the incident played out.

“I feel betrayed by the fact that the people that were telling us he was brain dead and then he wakes up,” Rhorer told the outlet. “They are trying to play God. 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.”