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Woman is saved from certain death when doctors defied push to operate prematurely, as she woke from coma just as her organs were about to be harvested

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;231717&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Danella Gallegos was 38 and homeless in 2022&comma; when she fell into a coma&comma; with doctors telling her family it was unlikely she would recover <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;231717&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>An organ donation&nbsp&semi;service pushed for the removal of the comatose woman’s body parts&nbsp&semi;even after she showed signs of life&comma; medical staff allege<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;231717&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Loved ones agreed to donate her organs&comma; but as preparations began&comma; they saw tears in Gallegos’ eyes <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;231717&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Doctors at the Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque&comma; NM&comma; gasped when they asked Gallegos to blink her eyes and she complied<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;231717&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Hospital workers claim that coordinators&nbsp&semi;from the New Mexico Donor Services called on the operation to happen anyway&comma; shrugging off the movement as &OpenCurlyQuote;just reflexes’ <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;231717&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Doctors defied the coordinator and took Gallegos out of surgery and she made a full recovery<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;metro&period;co&period;uk&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;08&sol;SEI&lowbar;261276382-fd7a&period;jpg&quest;quality&equals;90&amp&semi;strip&equals;all&amp&semi;w&equals;646" alt&equals;"Danielle Gallegos https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;facebook&period;com&sol;danielle&period;gallegos&period;77&sol;" class&equals;"wp-image-23843414" style&equals;"width&colon;759px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong><strong>In 2022&comma; Danella Gallegos &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; fell into a coma and doctors told her family she would likely never recover&period; Withe pre-op prep to her harvest her organs underway&comma; she showed signs of life<&sol;strong><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">An organ donation service pushed for the removal of a comatose woman’s body parts even after she showed signs of life&comma; medics allege&period;<br>Danella Gallegos was 38 and homeless in 2022 when she fell into a coma&period; <br>After doctors told the family there was little or no probability that she would recover&comma; the agreed to donate her organs&period; However&comma; with pre-surgery preparations underway they <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;nytimes&period;com&sol;2025&sol;07&sol;20&sol;us&sol;organ-transplants-donors-alive&period;html">observed tears<&sol;a> in Danella’s eyes&period;<br>Doctors at the Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque gasped when they asked the comatose woman to blink her eyes and she complied&period;<br>Despite the evidence of brain function hospital workers allege&comma; the coordinators from the New Mexico Donor Services pressed for the operation to proceed anyway&comma; shrugging off the movement as &OpenCurlyQuote;just reflexes’&period;<br>Doctors defied the coordinator and took Gallegos out of surgery and she went on to full recovery&period;<br>&OpenCurlyQuote;I feel so fortunate&period; But it’s also crazy to think how close things came to ending differently&comma;’ says Gallegos who has lodged a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services&comma; prompting an investigation into the incident&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;08&sol;Danella-Gallegos-2&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-483277" style&equals;"width&colon;770px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Danella Gallegos’ family urged doctors to call off the surgery&period; Doctors at the Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque<&sol;strong>&comma;<strong> NM agreed&comma; defied directives and saved her&period; She fully recovered and<strong> lodged a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services<&sol;strong> <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">New Mexico Donor Services says it serves two million people in the state by &OpenCurlyQuote;connecting organ and tissue donations to the patients who need them’&period;<br>But investigations revealed that some procurement organizations rush this process&comma; such as approaching a patient’s relatives before they have decided to switch off life support&period;<br>Pressure from the top&comma; coupled with the short span for viability of organs post humus&comma; has led to organ removal surgeries called &OpenCurlyQuote;donation after circulatory death’&period; This process accounted for a third of all organ donations in the past year&period;<br>Unlike most organ donors&comma; who are brain-dead&comma; patients have some brain function but are on life support&comma; in a coma and aren’t expected to recover&period; Doctors switching off life support must wait for a patient’s heart to stop beating within two hours for their organs to be viable&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;08&sol;Misty-Lynn-Hawkins-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-483280" style&equals;"width&colon;812px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Misty Lynn Hawkins &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; 42&comma; died after doctors noticed she was alive in the middle of an organ harvest surgery<&sol;strong> <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">The accidents and errors arising in the hasty decision to harvest organs from otherwise viable human life has happened before&period; <br>In one notable case&comma; Misty Hawkins&comma; 42&comma; who choked while eating and fell into a coma&comma; remained comatose for weeks when her family decided to donate her organs in May 2024&period; Doctors declared her dead 103 minutes after turning off life support&period;<br>A surgeon sawed through her breastbone&comma; only to find Misty’s heart was still beating and she was breathing&period; Despite stopping the procedure&comma; <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;sunsetmemorialpark&period;com&sol;obituaries&sol;misty-hawkins">Hawkins died<&sol;a> a short time later&period;<br>The hospital said it had correctly followed its protocols and that Misty was declared dead after &OpenCurlyQuote;five minutes’ of no vital signs or cardiopulmonary function’&comma; referring to the heart and lungs&period;<br>Misty was the third circulatory death donation attempt ever carried out at Flowers Hospital&comma; a trauma center in Dothan&comma; Alabama&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;08&sol;Anthony-Hoove-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-483282" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong><strong>In the case of Anthony &&num;8216&semi;TJ&&num;8217&semi; Hoover&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; another victim of premature organ harvesting &comma;a federal inquiry found&comma; despite improvements in his neurological condition&comma; a donation service continued to push for an operation to harvest organs<&sol;strong><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;08&sol;Anthony-Hoover-with-his-sister-Donna-Rhorer-2&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-483295" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong><strong>When Hoover was taken for the retrieval&comma; he shook his head and cried and doctors refused to take him off life support&period; Hoover now lives with his sister&comma; Donna Rhorer &lbrack;right&rsqb;&comma; has neurological problems after going through the operation despite evidence of brain function<&sol;strong><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">During a congressional committee last year&comma; lawmakers heard of Anthony Hoover&comma; who had an overdose in 2021&period;<br>Thomas &OpenCurlyQuote;TJ’ Hoover II&comma; 36&comma; was rushed to Baptist Health Richmond Hospital in Kentucky after overdosing on drugs in October 2021&period; Unresponsive for two days&comma; his family decided to donate his organs&period; <br>A federal inquiry found that his neurological condition later improved&comma; yet a donation service continued to push for an operation&period;<br>When Hoover was taken for the retrieval&comma; he shook his head and cried and doctors refused to take him off life support&period; Investigators found that while Hoover has recovered&comma; he suffered neurological injurie<br><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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