An organ-donation organisation is facing allegations that its staff urged doctors to remove organs from a comatose woman — who later made a full recovery after medical personnel observed signs of life.
Danella Gallegos said she feels fortunate to be alive after donor coordinators allegedly pressed to proceed with organ retrieval when she fell into a coma in 2022.
Gallegos, who was 38 at the time, was homeless when she suffered an unspecified medical emergency. Doctors at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, told her family she was unlikely to recover.
The family subsequently agreed to organ donation through New Mexico Donor Services, The New York Times reported.
As preparations for the retrieval began, Gallegos’s relatives noticed tears in her eyes; donation coordinators reportedly dismissed them as reflexes. On the day scheduled for the procedure, one sister observed movement, and a doctor asked Gallegos to blink — which she did, indicating she was still alive. Despite these signs, coordinators allegedly pressured hospital staff to proceed and suggested administering morphine to reduce movement.
Doctors at the hospital refused and halted the procedure. Their decision preserved Gallegos’s life; she went on to make a full recovery and later filed a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services, prompting an investigation. Presbyterian Hospital said New Mexico Donor Services handled the donation process, while the organisation denied interfering with medical decisions.
The case echoes a similar incident in Kentucky in October 2021 involving Thomas “TJ” Hoover II. After a drug overdose, Hoover was declared brain dead and scheduled for organ donation; staff later noticed him thrashing and crying before the operation. Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) was accused of pushing to proceed, an allegation the company denied. Hoover ultimately recovered and now lives with his sister.
Another case involved Misty Hawkins, 42, whose life support had been withdrawn before organ retrieval. Surgeons found her heart still beating when they began the procedure; she did not survive.
According to official statistics, more than 103,200 people are currently on the organ-transplant waiting list in the United States, with about 13 dying each day while waiting. Each donor has the potential to save up to eight lives and improve as many as 75 others.
