US Moves to Shut Down Organ Donation Group After Patient Showed Signs of Life

US authorities have moved to shut down an organ donation group accused of pressing ahead with an operation despite a donor showing signs of life.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the move on Wednesday as part of a broader overhaul of the US organ procurement system.

He described Network for Hope, a Kentucky-based nonprofit organization, as “a bad apple” with “persistent safety failures.” One of over 50 such NPOs in the US, it coordinates organ recovery from deceased donors and helps match organs with patients on the national transplant waiting list.

The case at the center of the government's action dates back to October 2021 and involves Anthony Thomas “TJ” Hoover II, a Kentucky man who suffered a drug overdose and was declared brain dead at a local hospital. Hoover's family agreed to donate his organs, and he was prepared for organ recovery surgery.

However, on the way to the operating room, Hoover allegedly opened his eyes and appeared to track family members with his gaze. They were reportedly told the movements were involuntary reflexes commonly seen in patients declared brain dead.

According to witness accounts later detailed in congressional testimony and federal investigations, the situation took a dramatic turn once Hoover was wheeled into the operating room. Staff said he began moving, shaking his head, appearing to cry and attempting to pull at his breathing tube, prompting two physicians to refuse to continue with the procedure.

Former employees of Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA), the predecessor of today's Network for Hope, later alleged that a supervisor urged staff to find another physician willing to continue with the planned organ recovery despite Hoover showing signs of life. Network for Hope has denied the allegations, saying KODA never attempted to recover organs from a living patient.

The procedure was abandoned, and Hoover survived. He continues to live with neurological impairments.

The Trump administration has cast the Kentucky case as evidence of systemic failures in the US organ transplant system. After reviewing 351 organ donation cases in which procurement was authorized but never completed, the Department of Health and Human Services said about one-third had “concerning features.” Investigators found that 73 patients displayed signs of brain function that should have ruled them out as organ donors, while at least 28 may not have been deceased when organ procurement was initiated.