A non -profit organization will have ignored signs of consciousness in 103 patients who were about to have the organs removed for donation.
A federal investigation in the United States revealed alarming practices in the Kentucky State Organ Donation Network, concluding that employees repeatedly ignored signs of consciousness in patients being prepared for organ removal.
The report, conducted by the administration of US health resources and services (HRSA), analyzed 350 cases in the last four yearsidentifying at least 73 in which patients had high levels or in improving consciousness – but the process of organ harvesting continued.
The investigation focused on the growing practice of donation after circulatory death (DCD), which involves patients who They are not in brain deathbut remain linked to vital support with minimal brain function. In this system, the organs can only be removed after the patient’s natural death, after removing vital support, following rigorous protocols to avoid premature interventions.
Despite these safeguards, the report concluded that the organization Kentucky Organ Office Affiliat (Koda) – currently called Network for Hope After a fusion – repeatedly violated these protocols. Employees exerted pressure on families to obtain consent, interfered with the medical authority and tried to advance with procedures even when There were obvious signs of consciousness or possible recovery.
In several particularly worrying cases, patients showed signs of pain, anguish or resumed consciousness while being prepared for surgery. In December 2022, a 50 -year -old overdose victim started to look around less than an hour after being turned off from vital support.
Instead of interrupting the process, the team postponed the decision for another 40 minutes – enough time to make the organs unviable – before transferring the patient to intensive care. He ended up sitting, talking to his family and passed away three days later, reports the
In all, 103 cases were considered “worrying”, with the most frequent incidents in rural hospitals. The investigation also revealed that more than half of transplants Coordinated by the Kentucky organization involved donors in circulatory death – a number significantly higher than the national average.
One of the most disclosed cases was Anthony Thomas Hoover II. In 2021, Hoover suffered an overdose and was declared unconscious. After the family authorized the donation, clear signs of neurological improvement emerged. According to the clinical records, he cried, stirred in bed and even shrunk his knees to his chest during the preparation for surgery. A doctor refused to turn off the vital support. Hoover ended up recovering And, currently 36, lives with neurological sequelae.
Old employees told The New York Times that internal pressure to advance with organ harvesting was intense. “If it wasn’t for that doctor, We would have advanced for sure”Said Natasha Miller, who was in the operating room in the case of Hoover.
In response to federal conclusions, regulators required more training for employees, more frequent neurological evaluations and rigorous compliance with ethical guidelines. Network for Hope said she received the report and pledged to comply with all recommendations.
However, Kentucky’s Attorney General is conducting a separate investigation into the case of Hoover, which is still underway.
