‘He’s not dead’: Shocking moment right before ‘dead’ man’s organs are harvested

A man declared legally dead by doctors has shocked loved one moments before being taken in to have his organs removed for donation.

A North Carolina church pastor who was declared dead by doctors has miraculously shown signs of life – just as his organs were being prepared for harvesting.

Ryan Marlow, 37, was rushed to hospital late last month after contracting the foodborne bacterial illness listeria. The father-of-three suffered severe swelling on his brain and eventually slipped into a coma.

On August 27, Ryan’s wife, Megan, was told that her husband was clinically brain dead and had therefore passed away. According to North Carolina law, a doctor can declare a person deceased if they are not exhibiting any brain activity.

“(A nurse) said, ‘Your husband has passed’,” Megan told local news outlet WXII12. “Those were the words that were used.”

The devastated mum spent the next two days at home mourning her husband and comforting her three children, all of whom are aged under six. Meanwhile, Ryan remained on life support for the sake of his upcoming organ harvesting.

Stream your news live & on demand with Flash. From CNN International, Al Jazeera, Sky News, BBC World, CNBC & more. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Pastor Ryan Marlow, 37, was pronounced dead by doctors on August 27 – but declared alive three days later. Picture: Grace Baptist Church

Then, on August 29, Megan received a phone call from a doctor at the hospital claiming that Ryan had actually suffered traumatic brain damage and that they would change the time of death from August 27 to the following morning of August 30, when his organs would be harvested and his life support switched off.

“I said, ‘He’s still pretty much brain dead right?’ and I was told yes,” Megan claimed.

The following morning, Megan returned to the hospital to say a final goodbye to her husband, who would be going into the operating room to have his organs removed for donation.

When she arrived, however, another relative was at the hospital and claimed the pastor’s feet had twitched when he was shown videos of his family.

Megan was left devastated after she was told that husband Ryan had died.

“I went into the hallway,” Megan recalled. “Literally the OR (operating room) team was ready to take him, and I tell the nurse, ‘I need tests done now to see if he’s brain dead.’”

Shockingly, Megan claims that the tests showed blood was actually flowing to Ryan’s brain and he was not clinically brain dead.

“Long story short, he’s not brain dead, my friends,” the stunned wife declared in a Facebook Live video posted from the hospital the following day.

“God’s kept him here. He’s supposed to be dead, he’s supposed to be at the funeral home right now according to these doctors.”

Ryan remains on life support and is still in a coma – but doctors don’t believe he will be able to make a full recovery.

Ryan still faces an uphill battle, but Megan have vowed not to give up hope.

“They think the injury is so severe that he won’t turn around,” Megan revealed in another Facebook Live update yesterday.

Still, the devoutly religious mum shares her husband’s deep sense of faith and is praying for a second miracle.

“He may still go to glory yet,” Megan stated. “(But) this is beyond medical help, this is in the Lord’s hands.”

The devoted wife continues to share frequent updates on her page, with tens of thousands of people now tuning in across the country.

“Thank God he was an organ donor,” one follower wrote. “This has literally given me chills seeing this. What a miracle that God can only do!”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission