In 2019, while heading to his sister’s home, Larry Black Jr. was shot in the head. Though he somehow managed to make it to the back door of a stranger’s home, where he asked for help.

“I didn’t know I was shot at first,” Black said to KFF Health News. “I literally ran like a block or two away.”

Soon, he was rushed to SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. According to KFF, while lying on the operating table, with his chest exposed, the surgical team on duty began making preparations for his organs. 

This was despite the 22-year-old’s heart still beating, and he had not been declared brain dead. Thankfully, Dr. Zohny Zohny, a neurosurgeon, new to the team, noticed what was happening and ordered the surgical team to stop. 

“I don’t care if we have consent,” Zohny said to KFF. “I haven’t spoken to the family, and I don’t agree with this. Get him off the table.” He explained that consent from family didn’t matter without a proper prognosis.

Black’s family’s decision to donate his organs came with reservations, explained Molly Watts, his sister. Though it was after being told he was, at “the end of the road,” and beyond the point of recovery, that his family consented to having his organs donated. 

“In my opinion, no family would ever consent to organ donation unless they were given an impression that their family member had a very poor prognosis,” Zohny said. “I never had a conversation with the family about the prognosis, because it was too early to have that discussion.” 

After Dr. Zohny’s intervention, Black was returned to intensive medical care, sedatives were then reduced, and two days later, he woke up. “I heard my mama yelling,” Black said. “Everybody was there yelling my name, crying, playing my favorite songs, sending prayers up.”

He eventually learned to walk, speak, spell, read, and even remember personal details. Now at 28, although he still faces physical challenges and regularly attends physical therapy, Larry is a musician and a father of three. 

The experience is something that sticks with him. He also questions the organ donation system, saying that being registered shouldn’t mean others decide when life ends.