An Ohio hospital put two employees on administrative leave this week after admitting the wrong patient received a kidney transplant earlier this month.
“We sincerely apologize to these patients and their families,” said George Stamatis, a spokesman for the University Hospital in Cleveland. “We recognize that they have entrusted us with their care. The situation is completely inconsistent with our commitment to help patients return to health and live life to the fullest. ”
The kidney given to the wrong patient is compatible and the recipient is expected to recover, the hospital said. Surgery for the intended recipient is delayed. Officials did not say if there was another kidney. No additional patient details were published.
While it varies, the average time spent on the kidney waiting list can be five to 10 years, according to UCLA Health, and there are more than 100,000 patients on the list in the United States.
Patients can reduce their waiting time through a live donation from a compatible relative or friend.
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Stamatis continued, “The University Hospital Transplant Program consists of a highly qualified multidisciplinary team of experts with decades of transplant care and research experience.
“We are disappointed that an error has recently occurred resulting in one patient receiving a kidney intended for another.” WOIO-TV in Cleveland reported.
The hospital said officials carefully examined the incident to make sure it would not happen again.
The mistake happened on July 2, according to WKYC-TV in Cleveland. Officials have informed the United Network for Organ Sharing, the body that manages the national organ transplant system, about the incident.
Heather Mekesa, CEO of a COO of an organ procurement agency in northeastern Ohio, told WKYC that the type of error is rare. “This is not the rule, I would say that at 99.99 percent of the time, everything is going well,” he told the station. “In the last two decades, that has not happened in Ohio. “It was a very unfortunate and not a big event, but it should not deter people who want to help others through organ donation.”
The hospital did not immediately return Fox News’ request for comment for hours. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
