‘They finally stopped the procedure because he was showing too many signs of life’; family fights for Organ Procurement Organizations reform

RICHMOND, Ky. (WKYT) - On October 25, 2021, Donna Rhorer's brother, Anthony Thomas 'TJ' Hoover II was admitted to Baptist Health Richmond's emergency room.

"All I had was my gut instinct for three years that something wasn't what we were told," said Donna Rhorer.

TJ was experiencing cardiac arrest and deemed code blue.

"October 26, we were told there were no reflexes, he had no reflexes, there was no brain activity, no brain waves."

The following day, Rhorer's family decided to remove TJ from life support. That's when they were told he was a registered organ donor.

To honor his wishes, the next two days were spent testing TJ's organs to see what was viable. Including a cardiac catheterization to test his heart.

"We had his honor walk Friday afternoon. During his honor walk, his eyes started opening up, he was tracking, his eyes were tracking us around. We were told it was just reflexes, just a normal thing. Who are we to question the medical system?"

TJ was then taken into the organ retrieval surgery.

"About an hour into it, the doctor came out and got us. He said he wasn't ready, he woke up. But we also hadn't been told during his heart catheterization that morning, he woke up then. If we had known that, then clearly we would have known he wasn't brain dead."

Rhorer was told to take TJ home, and make him comfortable. She was told he wouldn't live long. Rhorer's been caring for her brother for three years now.

"He made several attempts to say, 'Hey, I'm here'. But it was kind of ignored. They finally stopped the procedure because he was showing too many signs of life."

Rhorer didn't learn of these details until January of this year, when Nyckoletta Martin, who was working with Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates at the time, contacted her. She and other witnesses came forward this year, with their testimonies heard before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in September.

"It's not infrequent that something comes up around the donor and whether or not the donor is dead. The problem is we've had 40 years where there has been no oversight at all of OPOs. (Organ Procurement Organizations)," said Dr. Seth Karp, the Surgeon-in-Chief at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The Kentucky Attorney General's Office said they are now looking into this case.

In a statement from Baptist Health Richmond they said, 'We work closely with our patients and their families to ensure our patients' wishes for organ donation are followed.'

And Rhorer said if this can give one other family the courage to speak up, or if it could save one other life, then she's never going to stop telling TJ's story.

"In my heart of hearts, I knew something went on, but I compared it to David and Goliath. Who am I to go up against the medical system?"

While they said they can't discuss specific case details, Network for Hope did release a statement, saying in part, 'An Organ Procurement Organization is not involved in patient care, and we do not declare death. OPOs only have the authority to proceed with organ donation recovery after a patient's independent healthcare provider has declared death.'