Signs of life, ignored

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MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The Department of Health and Human Services has started the process of decertifying an organ procurement organization operating in parts of four states…

It said safety failures by Network for Hope left both potential organ donors and transplant recipients at risk.

Here’s WORLD commentator Bethel McGrew on a decision HHS says is about protecting the sanctity of life.

BETHEL MCGREW: Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made the shocking announcement last Wednesday at a press conference in Lexington, Kentucky. The decision to shut down the non-profit was made after an extensive federal investigation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Health Resources and Services Administration. They uncovered horrifying reports of doctors moving to harvest organs from patients who still showed signs of life. Worse, these failures persisted even after repeated warnings and opportunities to reform:

RFK, JR.: We found patients placed on the organ donation pathway who should have never been there. We found cases where the donation process continued despite signs that patients were not appropriate organ donors. We found repeated failures in clinical judgment, oversight, and patient safety.

For Kentucky man T. J. Hoover, that negligence was almost lethal. Unbeknownst to his family, he had put himself on the state’s potential donor list. After suffering a drug overdose and heart attack in 2021, he was declared brain dead. Then, the unthinkable happened:

DONNA ROHRER: During the honor walk, his eyes were open. He was tracking me and they told me it was just reflexes. Then during the heart cath, he was thrashing, crying, and grabbing the doctor's hands to stop him. Even after those signs, the organ procurement process continued until the physician refused to proceed.

That was T. J.’s sister and sole caregiver Donna Rohrer, who at the time declined to pursue legal action against the non-profit. But his case inspired surgical preservation coordinator Nikki Martin to speak out, even at the cost of her job:

NIKKI MARTIN: And we are questioning why was TJ waking up and no one said anything? We were questioning everything, and we were told at that point what we did was right. We did what the donor wanted. We did what the family wanted. We did everything per protocol, and that's it.

Responding to the HHS decision, Network for Hope CEO Barry Massa has issued a statement denying any abuses and announcing plans to appeal. He insisted that “NFH is compliant with all [Organ Procurement and Transplantation] policies.” He also pointed to their role in drafting Kentucky’s new “pause-in-procedure” process, which now requires that all organ harvesting procedures stop if there is any sign of life or any uncertainty about a patient’s neurological status. But the Network’s record of negligence speaks for itself. And people like T. J. and Donna must live with the consequences.

DONNA ROAR: He has nightmares. He struggles remembering things. And he asked me, sis, why did they want to kill me? I don't have an answer for him. I'm just his sister. But I know what I saw.

For WORLD, I’m Bethel McGrew.

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