Organ donor declared dead suddenly 'comes back to life' as surgeons prepare to remove his heart

An organ donor who had been declared dead suddenly came back to life on the operating table - moments before surgeons were about to remove his heart.

Accidentally being declared dead sounds like something straight out of our worst nightmares or a creepy horror movie; we don't want to cause alarm BUT, this scenario has in fact happened over the years.

A recent case which has come to light involves a US man from the state of Kentucky, with doctors preparing to harvest his organs for donation when he suddenly started 'thrashing around' on the operating table.

Thomas 'TJ' Hoover II had been declared brain dead after an overdose in 2021 (Hoover Rhorer Family)

After suffering an overdose of drugs Thomas 'TJ' Hoover II had been declared brain dead back in October 2021, leading to doctors at the Baptist Health Richmond Hospital to begin preparing to check his heart for donation viability.

However Natasha Miller, one of the staff tasked with preserving organs that day, noticed something wasn't right from the moment Hoover, 36, was wheeled into the operating room.

"He was moving around — kind of thrashing," Miller said in an interview with NPR. “And then when we went over there, you could see he had tears coming down. He was crying visibly."

Hoover's appearance understandably caused distress amongst those in the operating theatre, with Miller recalling: "It was very chaotic. Everyone was just very upset."

The most shocking allegation from the case is Miller's claim that her supervisor had been instructed to proceed with the retrieval and 'find another doctor' by Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA), the organisation who were co-ordinating the transplant.

KODA has since denied these claims, with the incident causing several members of the team to resign.

However the 36-year-old began to show signs of life as he was prepared for transplantation (Hoover Rhorer Family)

Miller's claims have since been backed up by Nyckoletta Martin, who was formerly employed by KODA, who discovered that Hoover had been showing signs of life while his heart was being examined for transplantation.

The records also add that Hoover had allegedly been re-sedated after showing signs of life.

"I’ve dedicated my entire life to organ donation and transplant," Martin added to NPR.

"It’s very scary to me now that these things are allowed to happen and there’s not more in place to protect donors."

Meanwhile Hoover's sister Donna Rhorer, who is now Hoover's legal guardian, admitted the whole incident left her 'angry' and like she'd lost her 'faith in humanity a little bit'.

Recalling a moment in which her brother opened his eyes while being wheeled out of the intensive care unit, Rhorer explained that she had been informed this was simply a reflex.

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

Hoover now lives with his sister Donna Rhorer (Hoover Rhorer Family)

Julie Bergen, president and chief operating officer for Network for Hope – an organisation formed when KODA merged with the LifeCenter Organ Donation Network – has since denied the claims, telling NPR in a statement: "No one at KODA has ever been pressured to collect organs from any living patient.

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

Baptist Health Richmond also added: "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."

The Kentucky Attorney General and US Health Services Resources are now understood to be investigating the case.