An Ohio nurse accidentally put a kidney in the trash, prompting the University of Toledo Medical Center to suspend its live donor program as it investigates the incident.
Doctors tried to resuscitate the kidney, which came from a live donor, but it was rendered unusable.
“We cannot fathom the disappointment that those impacted have experienced over the course of the last week. The University cannot begin to express the sorrow that we feel that this unfortunate incident occurred. We apologize sincerely,” Dr. Jeffery P. Gold, University of Toledo chancellor and dean of the College of Medicine, said in a statement.
The hospital has voluntarily suspended its live kidney donor program and has placed two nurses on paid administrative leave while it investigates the incident.
“[We are] in the process of assessing how this situation occurred and we are committed to ensuring safeguards are put in place to prevent such an incident from ever happening again,” Gold said, adding that the hospital was getting help from experts inside and outside the institution.
The University of Toledo Medical Center has performed more than 1,700 renal transplants since it began in 1972, with a 98 percent success rate, according to the hospital.
A spokesperson said the transplant program is expected to reopen in the next few weeks.
