Anthony Thomas “TJ” Hoover II, a 36-year-old man from Kentucky, United States, was declared brain dead in 2021 after suffering an overdose and cardiac arrest.
His family authorized organ donation and he was taken to the operating room to have his heart removed, but minutes before the operation the medical staff noticed that he began to move, open his eyes, and even cry.
The surgery was canceled immediately and the case ended up under investigation by state and federal authorities, as doubts arose about whether he really met the medical criteria to be declared brain dead.
