A woman from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was slated for an organ donation surgery just recently. However, hours before the harvest, she miraculously woke up. One would think that her ordeal was over, but it could’ve easily resumed because the organ donor coordinators initially pushed for the surgery despite her being conscious.
41-year-old Danella Gallegos is the woman in question, and back in 2022, she fell into a coma while homeless, due to an unspecified medical emergency. Gallegos was then rushed to the Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the hospital staff told her family that she wouldn’t recover or gain consciousness again. Hence, Gallegos’ family signed her up as an organ donor through the New Mexico Donor Services.
Fast forward to the day of the surgery, Gallegos’ family was saying their farewells when they noticed that the “comatose” woman had teardrops from her eyes. Gallegos’ family then informed the donation coordinators about the teardrops, but the donor service dismissed it as a reflex. The doctors, however, wanted to be sure, so they asked Gallegos to blink, and to their surprise, she did. Danella Gallegos woke up from her coma, miraculously so, given the initial prognosis.
Still, according to the allegations from healthcare professionals through The New York Times’ report, the donor service coordinators ordered the doctors to pump Gallegos with morphine and proceed with the organ harvesting surgery. Turns out, Gallegos got lucky twice since the doctors refused the coordinators and brought her out of surgery. Now, Gallegos is enjoying her third chance at life, though not without resentment from the donor service.
“I feel so fortunate. But it’s also crazy to think how close things came to ending differently,” says Danella Gallegos, transcript courtesy of Daily Mail
It Happens Way Too Often
As for what Gallegos felt during the stages of her consciousness leading up to the surgery and awakening, it was mostly fear. I can’t blame her, though, especially since she was surrounded mostly by people who only wanted to harvest her organs.
Turns out Gallegos’ story isn’t an isolated case. A handful of presumed brain-dead comatose patients who were signed up as organ donors have reportedly woken up from their coma, sometimes days or even hours before surgery. Another case, 42-year-old Misty Hawkins, wasn’t so fortunate since she was already dead after surgeons found out about her consciousness. Such frequency has caused much worry from people online, especially given the state of healthcare in the US.
“how can this sort of thing happen more than once?” asks to shijinn
“Another day another horror story in American healthcare…” says Legatus_Aemilianus
Meanwhile, others praised Danella Gallegos’s surgeons since they defied the donor service coordinators and held up their Hippocratic oath despite executive pressure. Some believed that attempted murder charges should’ve been filed against the donor service coordinators, but it appears, for now, Danella Gallegos is simply thankful to be alive and conscious once again.
“Imagine how many times they did it already. Murdered patients when nobody around to keep watch,” wondered thegodfather0504
“I work as a lawyer in healthcare risk management. The organ donation people are EXTREMELY pushy. NY times just did an article on this. They want to take patients to the OR right away and often are dealing with residents and attendings who don’t know any better,” claims H3llsWindStaff
