[Despare]

Reminds me of... I think The Twilight Zone, where the guy is declared dead but before he undergoes his autopsy he learns to tap his finger. Unfortuanatly they lay him on his finger and he's almost sliced and diced before they see him crying. Vague recollection but it was the first thing I thought of when I read this. Like Rayne said, how did they not know he was alive? I don't know, maybe checking for a pulse before sending him to the chopping table would be a good idea.

EDIT: It was a Hitchcock show, not a Twilight Zone.