An Ohio hospital placed two employees on administrative leave after a patient received a kidney intended for someone else.
Officials at University Hospitals in Cleveland apologized for the incident in a statement obtained by USA TODAY on Wednesday. University Hospitals confirmed that the patient who received the kidney is “recovering as expected,” and the organ is compatible with the individual.
“We have offered our sincerest apologies to these patients and their families,” University Hospitals said in the statement.
“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,” the statement continued.
The transplant surgery for the patient who was supposed to receive the kidney has been delayed. University Hospitals said that the incident occurred “recently” but declined to provide additional information.
University Hospitals officials added that investigations into the incident from both “outside agencies” and “internal quality and compliance experts” are ongoing.
“UH will take the actions necessary to prevent such a mistake from ever happening again,” University Hospitals said.
The health care system also notified the United Network for Organ Sharing, the organization that manages the national transplant system, of the mistaken surgery.
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