A New Jersey hospital is under fire for a massive mistake when doctors transplanted a kidney into a patient that he did not even need.

The disastrous mix-up occurred at the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, New Jersey.

The mistake occurred because the patient who was on the kidney transplant list had the same first and last name as the patient who was accidentally sent to surgery.

Hospital officials announced on November 18 that their patient had successfully received a new kidney, but the next day they discovered the terrible truth and reported, “unusually, the individual who should have received the organ has the same name and is of similar age.”

The hospital added that it was taking measures to prevent such a mistake in the future.

“All safety measures were validated, and additional checks were put into place before any subsequent transplant procedures occurred,” officials insisted.

Fortunately, the accidental transplant patient seems to be doing well and the patient whose liver got improperly implanted also received a liver and is doing well.

“We have a profound responsibility to people who literally place their lives in our hands. Mistakes of this magnitude are rare, and despite the unusual circumstances of similar patient identities, additional verification would have prevented this error,” Reginald Blaber, Virtua’s executive vice president and chief clinical officer, said in a public statement.

Blaber added that the mistake is “an unprecedented event in our respected 40-plus-year transplant program.”

“As an organization committed to safety and process, we immediately instituted additional measures and educational reinforcement to help ensure this does not happen again. Recognizing the human component of medicine, we know that taking accountability and talking about issues openly and honestly is how we learn and improve. As an organization committed to safety and process, we immediately instituted additional measures and educational reinforcement to help ensure this does not happen again,” Blaber concluded. “Recognizing the human component of medicine, we know that taking accountability and talking about issues openly and honestly is how we learn and improve.”

Imagine this nonsense? How can this sort of mistake ever happen?

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