In a shocking medical incident which sent ripples across the nation, a Kentucky man who had been declared brain dead following a cardiac arrest regained consciousness just as surgeons in his home state were poised to harvest his organs for donation.

Anthony Thomas 'TJ' Hoover II endured an unimaginable ordeal after coming round on the operating table, draped in a surgical sheet and surrounded by medical staff preparing his body for organ harvesting procedures.

In 2021, Hoover , then 33, was admitted to Baptist Health hospital in Richmond, Kentucky, USA, after a drug overdose led to medical professionals declaring him brain dead. What followed can only be described as a living nightmare.

Whistleblowers and Hoover's family have since come forward with harrowing details of the terrifying experience.

Speaking to NPR, Natasha Miller, a former employee of Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) - the organisation responsible for organ procurement - who was present in the operating room at the time, shared: "He was moving around - kind of thrashing, like moving and thrashing around on the bed. And then when we went over there, you could see he had tears coming down. He was visibly crying."

According to Miller, the donor's condition raised serious alarm bells for all those present in the operating room, including the two doctors who were due to lead the organ retrieval, both of whom refused to proceed following Hoover's unmistakable movements on the operating table.

Miller said: "The procuring surgeon, he was like, 'I'm out of it. I don't want to have anything to do with it.' It was very chaotic. Everyone was just very upset."

These were apparently not even the earliest indications that something was amiss.

Hoover's sister, Donna Rhorer, told NPR she grew alarmed when her brother appeared to open his eyes and frantically look around while being wheeled from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to the operating theatre, reports the Daily Star.

She told the media outlet: "It was like it was his way of letting us know, you know, 'Hey, I'm still here.'"

However, Rhorer and other family members were informed this was merely a routine reflex.

Rhorer told Kentucky news station WKYT: "We were told it was just reflexes - just a normal thing.

"Who are we to question the medical system?"

Organ preservationist Natasha Miller alleged to NPR that the coordinator contacted her supervisor after Hoover began thrashing about, only to be instructed by the supervisor to "find another doctor to do it" and that they were "Going to do this case. She needs to find someone else."

Miller alleged the coordinator was in tears while speaking to the supervisor, as she was being shouted at, telling him there's "no one else" willing to proceed with the organ procurement.

The organ retrieval was ultimately cancelled, however, several KODA workers are said to have resigned from the organisation over the October 2021 incident, amongst them whistleblower and organ preservationist Nyckoletta Martin.

Martin told NPR: "The donor had woken up during his procedure that morning for a cardiac catheterization. And he was thrashing around on the table."

A cardiac catheterisation is a procedure carried out on potential organ donors to assess whether their heart is sufficiently healthy to be transplanted to another patient in need.

Martin alleges that doctors reportedly sedated Hoover upon his regaining consciousness during the procedure, and the plans to harvest his organs were subsequently authorised to continue as planned.

Reflecting on her lifelong dedication to organ donation and transplantation, Martin said: "It's very scary to me now these things are allowed to happen and there's not more in place to protect donors."

While KODA confirmed Miller was assigned to the case and was present in the operating theatre, the organ procurement organisation flatly denied the allegations, informing NPR in an official statement that Hoover's case had "not been accurately represented".

The statement read: "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."

Kentucky hospital Baptist Health Richmond, where the incident allegedly took place, issued a separate statement, saying: "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." What happened on the fateful day

Hoover's sister told the media her brother had turned to drugs as a result of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, triggered by witnessing numerous dead bodies in the wake of hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

He had previously lost two brothers to overdoses, struggled to hold down a job or find any sense of purpose, and just months before ending up in hospital, Hoover's mother had also passed away.

On what would have been his late mother's birthday in October 2021, Hoover collapsed while loading his car after taking unspecified drugs. By the time paramedics arrived, Hoover had no pulse.

He was rushed to hospital and while doctors reportedly did everything in their power to save him, Hoover's family were told he displayed all the hallmarks of being brain dead: an absence of reflexes, brain damage, and a vacant look in his eyes.

Hoover's sister told CNN that medical staff had officially declared him brain dead and, as he was a registered organ donor, the family consented to removing his life support so that Hoover could save other lives while his own appeared to be drawing to a sudden close.

WKYT reported the hospital even held a ceremony in Hoover's honour as his organs were assessed to determine which would be suitable for donation.

Roughly an hour after Hoover had been taken in for organ retrieval surgery, a doctor emerged and informed the family he "wasn't ready".

His sister told WKYT: "He woke up." Rhorer recalls being instructed to take her brother home and keep him as comfortable as possible, having been given the prognosis that he was unlikely to survive much longer.

Hoover has since defied the odds, and Rhorer has taken on the role of her brother's primary carer and legal guardian as he struggles with walking, talking and remembering.

As of 2024, NPR and WKYT have reported that the state's attorney general's office, and the federal agency which helps oversee organ procurement, are investigating Hoover's rare (and horrifying) case.