LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Hundreds of people are removing their names from the Kentucky Donor Registry amid a federal investigation into Louisville-based Network for Hope over claims it tried to harvest organs from some people who woke up after being declared brain dead.
In a document given to Congress, the nonprofit's CEO Barry Massa wrote about removals from the registry. He wrote that more than 2,100 people took their names off the list from September to December of last year. That includes more than 1,000 names removed just last October, he said.
The influx in name removals comes after the story of a Richmond, Kentucky, man became public. TJ Hoover was declared brain dead and nearly had his organs removed in 2021, but woke up.
Hoover was rushed to Baptist Health Richmond in central Kentucky after suffering a drug overdose in October 2021. Four days later, he was believed to be brain dead. Doctors began preparing him for organ removal surgery as he was listed as an organ donor, and his name was on the national donor registry.
Doctors had already begun preparations when the procedure was abruptly stopped after Hoover woke up.
His story is now at the center of a federal investigation by the Health Resources and Services Administration, which found issues with patient-family interactions, medical assessments and recognition of high neurological function. His story was also the focus of a WDRB Investigates report Thursday.
To update or remove your name from the donor registry, click here. Then, click on "Change Registration," login with your driver's license number and zip code, and you'll be able to edit your registration or click "Not a Donor."
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