Hospital says donated kidney was transplanted into wrong patient in NJ
CAMDEN, N.J. – A donated kidney was accidentally given to the wrong patient this month, a New Jersey hospital confirmed Tuesday.
Both patients on the transplant waiting list had the same name and a similar age, and both were waiting for a matching kidney, according to Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden. The patient who should have received the kidney was higher on the matching list managed by the United Network for Organ Sharing.
CBS3 Philly first reported the incident late Tuesday afternoon.
The mix-up was discovered the day after the Nov. 18 procedure by a member of the hospital's clinical team and voluntarily reported to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and the New Jersey Department of Health. Virtua also notified the affected patients.
The incident was an "unprecedented event in our respected 40-plus-year transplant program," said Dr. Reginald Blaber, executive vice president and chief clinical officer.
"As an organization committed to safety and process, we immediately instituted additional measures and educational reinforcement to help ensure this does not happen again," Blaber said in a statement.
The 51-year-old patient who received the kidney was a match, and is doing well, according to Virtua. The medical director and the transplant coordinator visited the other patient to apologize.
On Sunday, that patient underwent a successful kidney transplant at the same hospital and is also doing well, according to Virtua.
A representative for the Department of Health said Tuesday the department would not comment on whether it received a complaint or whether it is conducting an investigation.
Such incidents are "incredibly, incredibly rare," said Elisse Glennon, vice president and chief administrative officer for the NJ Sharing Network, the organization responsible for recovering organs intended for transplant. The nonprofit handles about 600 organ recoveries each year.
"I have no statistics on it, because it's not something we hear about," Glennon said. She would not comment about the incident, saying the nonprofit had no information or involvement with what happened within the hospital.
After discovering the error, Virtua said it put additional checks in place before any more organ transplant surgeries were conducted.
"We have a profound responsibility to people who literally place their lives in our hands," Blaber said. "Mistakes of this magnitude are rare, and despite the unusual circumstances of similar patient identities, additional verification would have prevented this error."
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Kidney was transplanted into wrong patient, New Jersey hospital says
