(Cleveland) - A mix-up at Cleveland's University Hospitals is under investigation, as the hospital admits that on July 2, a transplant kidney was given to a patient other than the one for whom the kidney was intended.
UH spokesperson George Stamatis says the donated kidney was inadvertently transplanted into the wrong patient. It turned out to be compatible with the patient who received the kidney, and that patient is recovering as expected. The patient who was to have received the kidney is continuing to wait for another donor kidney.
As the investigation goes on, two UH caregivers have been placed on administrative leave.
This is the statement that University Hospitals gave to our news partners at 3 News:
"The University Hospitals Transplant Program is comprised of a highly qualified, multidisciplinary team of experts with decades of transplant care delivery and research experience. We are dismayed that an error recently occurred resulting in one patient receiving a kidney intended for another. The kidney is compatible and the patient is recovering as expected. Another patient’s transplant surgery has been delayed.
We have notified the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the organization that manages the national organ transplant system. We are also carefully reviewing this situation to understand what led to the error and to ensure that such an event will never happen again. Two of our caregivers are on administrative leave pending the determinations of our investigation.
We have offered our sincerest apologies to these patients and their families. We recognize they entrusted us with their care. The situation is entirely inconsistent with our commitment to helping patients return to health and live life to the fullest.'
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