Oops.
According to The Associated Press, doctors at a New Jersey hospital recently transplanted a kidney into the wrong patient by mistake, Virtua Health said in a statement Tuesday.
The incident, which occurred at Camden's Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, involved two patients on a kidney transplant list who share the same name, officials said. The patient who was lower on the list, identified only as a 51-year-old, received a kidney Nov. 18 instead of the other patient, who was supposed to have higher priority, the AP reported. Doctors performed the transplant on the second patient Sunday, the hospital said.
Despite the error, both surgeries were successful, according to WPVI-TV. Hospital officials also alerted the state Health Department and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network about the mistake, the station reported.
"This is an unprecedented event in our respected 40-plus-year transplant program," Virtua's statement read. "As an organization committed to safety and process, we immediately instituted additional measures and educational reinforcement to help ensure this does not happen again."
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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