Oct 23, 2024 04:08 PM
https://www.sciencealert.com/man-declare...be-removed
EXCERPTS: A case of a Kentucky man waking up as his organs were about to be harvested for donation has called into question the protocols used by US hospitals and organ donation networks to qualify death.
[...] According to a report by the US public broadcasting organization National Public Radio (NPR), ... case notes indicated the donor had shown signs of life following a clinical test to evaluate the heart's fitness for transplant purposes.
"The donor had woken up during his procedure that morning for a cardiac catheterization," Martin told NPR's Rob Stein. "And he was thrashing around on the table."
The patient at the center of the incident is 36-year-old Anthony Thomas 'TJ' Hoover II, who had been rushed to Baptist Health Hospital in Richmond, Kentucky, following a drug overdose. Declared brain dead in the wake of a cardiac arrest, TJ was removed from life support and prepared for organ donation in accordance with his wishes.
TJ's sister Donna Rhorer was by her brother's side following his passing. Along with other family members, Rhorer recalled seeing TJ's eyes open and look about on the way to the theater, to be told by staff this was a common reflex.
It was only later when TJ displayed more exaggerated movements on the operating table and "was crying visibly" that medical staff in the room became alarmed. In a chaotic and emotionally charged response to the situation, surgeons declined to continue the procedure even as KODA allegedly requested another doctor to follow up – something which KODA denies.
[...] Setting the criteria too strict means patients who have vanishingly small chances of recovery could occupy resources – be it hospital beds, ventilators, or even organs – that could see another patient survive. Too lax, and rare events like this one become less rare, shaking the public's confidence in the medical system.
[...] Not only have concerns been raised about the potential for errors such as these, but accusations of inequality in donation, excessive wait times, and wastage in donated organs have been leveled at existing networks... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: A case of a Kentucky man waking up as his organs were about to be harvested for donation has called into question the protocols used by US hospitals and organ donation networks to qualify death.
[...] According to a report by the US public broadcasting organization National Public Radio (NPR), ... case notes indicated the donor had shown signs of life following a clinical test to evaluate the heart's fitness for transplant purposes.
"The donor had woken up during his procedure that morning for a cardiac catheterization," Martin told NPR's Rob Stein. "And he was thrashing around on the table."
The patient at the center of the incident is 36-year-old Anthony Thomas 'TJ' Hoover II, who had been rushed to Baptist Health Hospital in Richmond, Kentucky, following a drug overdose. Declared brain dead in the wake of a cardiac arrest, TJ was removed from life support and prepared for organ donation in accordance with his wishes.
TJ's sister Donna Rhorer was by her brother's side following his passing. Along with other family members, Rhorer recalled seeing TJ's eyes open and look about on the way to the theater, to be told by staff this was a common reflex.
It was only later when TJ displayed more exaggerated movements on the operating table and "was crying visibly" that medical staff in the room became alarmed. In a chaotic and emotionally charged response to the situation, surgeons declined to continue the procedure even as KODA allegedly requested another doctor to follow up – something which KODA denies.
[...] Setting the criteria too strict means patients who have vanishingly small chances of recovery could occupy resources – be it hospital beds, ventilators, or even organs – that could see another patient survive. Too lax, and rare events like this one become less rare, shaking the public's confidence in the medical system.
[...] Not only have concerns been raised about the potential for errors such as these, but accusations of inequality in donation, excessive wait times, and wastage in donated organs have been leveled at existing networks... (MORE - missing details)
