Hearing focuses on Kentucky's organ donation process amid calls to decertify Network for Hope

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A congressional hearing on Tuesday focused on problems with organ donation in Kentucky.

Network for Hope is at the center of a federal investigation after TJ Hoover woke up as he was being prepped for organ donation.

Medical records say Hoover had been declared brain dead in 2021 and was being prepared for organ donation when he regained consciousness — a stunning turn that raised serious questions about the organ donation process.

Tuesday's hearing focused on the state's organ donation process as advocates call for Network for Hope to be decertified — a move federal regulators recently made against an agency in Florida.

"We can show the public we see the problems, we're working on them. The public should have more informed consent to truly understand what they're signing up for when they sign up to be an organ donor, because organ donation is so important, and we need it so badly," Nycki Martin, organ donation reform advocate, said. "Thousands of people are dying, but thousands of people are taking their names off the organ donation registry, so we have to fix that."

Kentucky saw a surge in removals from the registry amid the federal investigation into Network for Hope. In a document given to Congress, the nonprofit's CEO Barry Massa wrote that more than 2,100 people had taken their names off the list from September to December of last year, including more than 1,000 names removed just last October.

Martin also stressed the need for lawmakers to work with law enforcement to hold "bad actors" accountable.

Federal investigators with the Health Resources and Services Administration looking into Network for Hope found issues with patient-family interactions, medical assessments and recognition of high neurological function.

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Hearing focuses on Kentucky's organ donation process amid calls to decertify Network for Hope