Overview
- Danella Gallegos filed a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services after she blinked on command in a coma moments before organ harvesting, prompting a federal investigation.
- Presbyterian Hospital has launched an internal probe even as New Mexico Donor Services denies pressuring doctors to proceed despite signs of life.
- Regulators are updating donation after circulatory death protocols, including mandatory neurological testing and pause procedures, to prevent rushed organ procurements.
- Donation after circulatory death has tripled in five years to account for one-third of US organ transplants, intensifying concerns about narrow decision windows.
- Previous near-miss cases, such as Anthony Hoover’s rescue in 2021 and Misty Hawkins’s halted procedure in 2024, spurred state policy reforms and expanded federal oversight.