Miller, who works at Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA), told the outlet that two doctors refused to perform the organ retrieval after realizing that the donor had wrongly been declared dead. ... In the operating room, Miller recalled the case coordinator phoning her supervisor at KODA for help once they saw signs of life. The supervisor insisted that the case coordinator needed to “find another doctor to do it,” Miller recalled.
Ultimately, the organ retrieval was canceled. Hoover now lives with Rhorer, his legal guardian.
Hoover is safe, but the shocking moment stuck with KODA workers, some of whom quit after that incident. ...
Earlier that day, the donor had undergone cardiac catheterization, which is used to evaluatethe heart’s health before or after a transplant.
“The donor had woken up during his procedure that morning for a cardiac catheterization. And he was thrashing around on the table,” Martin said. But then, doctors sedated the patient and continued to plan to recover his organs, she added.
“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 told NPR. “That’s horrifying.
Yeah, I've let my mom and boyfriend know I will never be an organ donor and not to give up on me if they say I'm braindead. Those fuckers lie about everything and anything to get money and I know I'm more valuable to them dead than alive.
