Dead Woman Opens Eye During Organ Removal

A New York hospital has been fined and  made to undergo quality assurance analysis after it was revealed that a dead patient who was being prepared for organ removal opened her eyes.This sent shock waves down the spines of medical professionals ,however it was revealed that they had some tips that the patient might still be alive.

A spokeswoman for the Consumers Union Safe Patient Project, a group that aims for more accountability by medical professionals, says the nurse who was preparing the woman for organ removal actually noticed her toes curled during a required reflex test. And the woman’s nostrils appeared to be moving in an in-and-out breathing motion in the minutes before her planned post-mortem surgery.

“Dead people don’t curl their toes,” said Dr. Charles Wetli, a forensic pathologist from New Jersey, in the Telegraph. “And they don’t fight against the respirator and want to breathe on their own.”

But just 20 minutes after medical staff recorded the woman’s nostril motions, a nurse injected her with a sedative and sent her on the way to the operating room.

The hospital was forced to submit a plan of corrective action to New York’s Health Department in August 2011. And the hospital was fined and ordered to hire outside consultants to help oversee its work — and to teach how to diagnose death.

The hospital said in a statement reported by the Telegraph: “We've learned from this experience and have modified our policies to include the type of unusual circumstances presented in this case.”