Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Woman Sparks Debate After Revealing Why She Decided To No Longer Be An Organ Donor

TikTok screenshots of @unapologeticallysouthern
@unapologeticallysouthern/TikTok

TikToker @unapologeticallysouthern explained how she decided not to continue being an organ donor after hearing about a man who woke up right before his organ donation surgery after he'd been declared brain dead.

A woman on TikTok launched a massive debate on social media after revealing that a story about a man who woke up right before his organ donation surgery after he was declared brain dead made her decide to no longer be an organ donor.

TikToker @unapologeticallysouthern shared that she learned about Anthony Thomas ‘TJ’ Hoover II's story the day she was to renew her driver's license.


Hoover was admitted to the emergency room on October 25, 2021, where he experienced cardiac arrest and was deemed code blue.

The family was told Hoover had "no reflexes, there was no brain activity, no brain waves."

The next day, the family decided to remove him from life support. After being told Hoover was a registered organ donor, the family decided to honor his wishes.

After his organs were tested, which included cardiac catheterization, to find which organs were able to be donated, his family noticed his eyes opening and "tracking."

Medical staff told them it was just reflexes, "a normal thing."

Hoover was later taken in for organ retrieval surgery, and about an hour into the procedure, he woke up.

His sister told a news outlet:

“About an hour into it, the doctor came out and got us. He said he wasn’t ready. He woke up. But we also hadn’t been told during his heart catheterization that morning, he woke up then."
"If we had known that, then clearly we would have known he wasn’t brain dead."

This story was enough for @unapologeticallysouthern to rescind her organ donor status.

In her TikTok, she said she told her husband:

“If something happens to me, you need to let me lay there for about six weeks before you decide I’m brain dead, not two days."

She continued:

“It’s my body, it’s my choice, how 'bout that."
“I’m not doing it because I don’t know if somebody would declare me brain dead because, I don’t know, one of my organs looked nice and ripe for someone else.”

In the video, she also asked if donors' families receive any kind of compensation.

The answer is no, although while the donor family does pay for the medical care to keep their loved one alive before their organ donation, the cost of surgery to remove the organs is paid for by the recipient, according to the Mayo Clinic.

You can watch the TikTok below.

@unapologeticallysouthern

My Body My Choice! I’m no longer an Organ Donor and here is why…#mybodymychoice

@unapologeticallysouthern's video sparked quite the debate in the comments.

Many viewers shared positive organ donation experiences.

@unapologeticallysouthern/TikTok

@unapologeticallysouthern/TikTok

@unapologeticallysouthern/TikTok

Others, however, sided with the TikToker claiming they, too, have changed their minds about being organ donors.

@unapologeticallysouthern/TikTok

@unapologeticallysouthern/TikTok

@unapologeticallysouthern/TikTok

@unapologeticallysouthern/TikTok

@unapologeticallysouthern/TikTok

@unapologeticallysouthern/TikTok

@unapologeticallysouthern/TikTok

@unapologeticallysouthern/TikTok

In the case of Hoover, his family was told to take him home and "make him comfortable" as he wouldn't have much time left.

His sister has now been caring for him for three years.

You can watch Hoover's story below.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

More from Trending

Sarah Jessica Parker
Marc Piasecki/WireImage

Sarah Jessica Parker Claps Back At Conservative Critics Who Want Her To 'Shut Up' About Politics And 'Act'

Nothing seems to get conservatives' goats quite like celebrities having political opinions—well, liberal and leftist celebrities, anyway.

They seem to love it when weird right-wing celebs like Kevin Sorbo get on the internet and say bizarre, usually counterfactual nonsense, or when JK Rowling does her darnedest to make her legacy not about Harry Potter but about her weird obsession with trans people.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ann Coulter
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Ann Coulter Faces Fierce Backlash After Saying 'We Didn't Kill Enough Indians' In Deleted Post

Far-right provocateur Ann Coulter is facing fierce criticism after she made a genocidal remark in a now-deleted post on X in response to University of Minnesota professor and Navajo Nation member Melanie Yazzie's speech about colonization.

Yazzie, in a speech at last year's annual Socialism Conference, said "decolonization is the only thing that is going to save us as a species" during a panel hosted by Red Nation, a Native American nonprofit that advocates for Palestinian and Native American rights. She also said that the United States is the "greatest predator empire that has ever existed" and said it should be dismantled.

Keep ReadingShow less
James Gunn
Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage

James Gunn Bluntly Fires Back At 'Jerks' Who Criticize Superman's Pro-Immigrant Themes

Superman director James Gunn issued a response to the "jerks" who criticize the political themes inherent to the superhero's story, expressing his hope that seeing the movie will "make people a little nicer."

Speaking with The Times of London, Gunn stressed that the story of Superman is more relevant than ever considering the ongoing political turmoil in the United States largely centered around the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Keep ReadingShow less

Things People Do In Relationships That Seem Sweet But Are Actually Toxic

Content Warning: Controlling and Toxic Relationship Behaviors

We've all either been involved in or witnessed a relationship where we saw something that we thought was cute or sweet at first, but we eventually found the behavior to be troubling or "too much."

Keep ReadingShow less
A piggy bank surrounded by loose change.
coin bank

'Poor Person Habits' People Won't Give Up No Matter How Rich They Get

When money is tight, we look for every possible way to avoid spending it.

As much as we might find ourselves missing out on some of the nicer things life has to offer, we find ourselves contented by the fact that we will always have enough money in our bank accounts to pay our bills on time.

Keep ReadingShow less