Surgeons in Kentucky allegedly were set to begin harvesting organs from a man but refused to do so when they realized he might’ve still been alive, witnesses told National Public Radio (NPR) in a Thursday report.
The patient, 36-year-old Anthony Thomas “TJ” Hoover II, was rushed to the Baptist Health hospital in Richmond in October 2021 due to an apparent overdose, Hoover’s sister told NPR.
Hoover was declared dead, and his body was wheeled into an operating room where Natasha Miller, whose job is preserving donated organs for transplantation, waited, Miller told NPR. (RELATED: Selena Gomez’ Organ Donor Reportedly Upset The Star Continues To Consume Alcohol)
‘Horrifying’ mistake to take organs from a living person was averted, witnesses say https://t.co/2KK8LSeKo1 pic.twitter.com/2qTOzuFa8Y
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Although Hoover was declared dead, Miller told NPR that he appeared to be alive.
“He was moving around — kind of thrashing. Like, moving, thrashing around on the bed,” Miller said. “And then when we went over there, you could see he had tears coming down. He was crying visibly.”
Upon seeing Hoover’s condition, two doctors immediately refused to participate in the retrieval operation, Miller told NPR.
“The procuring surgeon, he was like, ‘I’m out of it. I don’t want to have anything to do with it,’” Miller said. “It was very chaotic. Everyone was just very upset.”
Miller, who works for Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA), told NPR that she heard the case coordinator call her supervisor for guidance.
“So, the coordinator calls the supervisor at the time. And she was saying that he was telling her that she needed to ‘find another doctor to do it’ – that, ‘We were going to do this case. She needs to find someone else,’” Miller alleges.
Another organ preservationist, Nyckoletta Martin, told NPR that the organ retrieval was cancelled, but that she and other KODA employees quit over the incident.
“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?” Martin said. “That’s horrifying.”
Martin said that KODA’s alleged decision to downplay the alleged incident upset her, NPR reported.
“KODA does not recover organs from living patients,” a KODA spokesperson told The Independent, adding, “KODA has never pressured its team to do so.”
The Kentucky state attorney general’s office is “reviewing” the incident, according to a statement sent to NPR.
“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,” Baptist Health Richmond told NPR in a statement.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
