A nightmare scenario unfolded at a hospital in Kentucky, NOVA reported. An organ donor woke up on the operating table during preparation for a transplant.
Doctors were preparing to remove his heart. “This morning, donor Thomas TJ Hoover woke up during the cardiac catheterization procedure,” said KODA Health Organization employee Nicoleta Martin. According to records in the case file, the Hippocratic Oath takers simply placated Hoover and continued with their plans to harvest his organs.
The incident caused several members of the KODA team to resign. "I have dedicated my entire life to organ donation and transplantation," Martin told NPR. “Now I am very scared that these things are allowed to happen and there are no measures to protect donors,”, she adds.
His sister said Hoover opened his eyes as he was taken out of the intensive care unit and into the operating room. "It's like this was his way of telling us, 'Hey, I'm still here,'" Donna Rohrer told NPR.
The doctors explained to her that this movement is due to reflexes and does not mean that the man is still alive. His condition shocked several doctors in the operating room and caused two of them to refuse to participate.
KODA officials deny that any of the organization's members instructed doctors to perform an operation to remove organs from a living patient. Nicoletta Martin says she was shocked to learn that the donor had previously shown signs of life while doctors examined his heart to see if it was suitable for transplant.
Kentucky's attorney general said investigators are looking into the matter. The federal Health Resources and Services Administration is also investigating the allegations.
Hoover eventually survived and currently lives with his sister. He has made a wonderful recovery, although he still has some problems with his memory, walking and talking.