Transplant Program Shut Down After Man Gets Wrong Kidney

Feb. 18, 2011— -- USC University Hospital has voluntarily shut down its kidney transplant program after a man was reportedly given the wrong kidney.

"No patient was harmed. However, as patient safety is the hospital's number one concern, the hospital inactivated the program while clinical protocols are assessed and additional safeguards to the kidney transplant program are developed," said Leslie Ridgeway, USC director of media relations, in a statement.

According to The Associated Press, the mix-up occurred after two kidneys from separate donors arrived at the transplant center simultaneously on Jan. 29 -- a Saturday. The program was immediately shut down.

"Our packaging and documentation was accurate," Thomas Mone, chief executive of the OneLegacy kidney transplant program told AP reporters, suggesting the mistake resulted from some human error.

The kidney which was transplanted, which had the universal blood type 'O,' was apparently a close enough match to avoid harming its unintended recipient -- a coincidence that experts say was lucky.

"They are all probably very relieved that this was blood group compatible," said Dr. Antonio DiCarlo, assistant professor at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and chief of transplant surgery at Fletcher Allen Healthcare. "This could have been devastating."

To determine whether an organ is a good match for a recipient, doctors perform a cross-match test, which involves mixing antibodies from the recipient with cells from the donor to determine if there will be an immune response. If nothing happens, the test is negative and the match is good. But if the cells react with each other, the test is positive, and moving forward with the transplant could kill the organ and possibly even the patient, DiCarlo said.

After USC realized its mistake, the organ procurement organization performed a cross-match test using blood samples they already had to determine the transplant's compatibility, the AP reported. The hospital then began looking for a suitable recipient for the other kidney -- the one the man should have received. That kidney was later transplanted at a local hospital.

The intended recipient of the misplaced kidney received another organ a few days later, the AP reported -- another fortunate coincidence.

"They [the patients] could have waited a year or six months before seeing an organ again," DiCarlo said. "We do realize that there's a mortality associated with being on a wait list, so the consequences for the person who did not get the organ could have been quite significant."