New Jersey

NJ Hospital Gives Kidney Transplant to the Wrong Patient

The two patients involved in the mix-up happen to have the same name and are around the same age, according to a spokesperson

What to Know

  • A New Jersey hospital mistakenly gave a kidney transplant to the wrong person.
  • The two patients involved in the mix-up happen to have the same name and are around the same age, according to the spokesperson.
  • Both patients ended up undergoing successful kidney transplants and are doing well.

A New Jersey hospital mistakenly gave a kidney transplant to the wrong patient who happens to have the same name as the intended recipient.

A spokesperson for Virtua Health told NBC10 a 51-year-old patient underwent a successful kidney transplant at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital on Nov. 18 in Camden, New Jersey. The next day, a member of the hospital’s clinical team discovered the kidney was accidentally given to the wrong person and was supposed to go to a priority patient on the waiting list.

The two patients involved in the mix-up happen to have the same name and are around the same age, according to the spokesperson.

The hospital reported the error to the Organ Procurement and Transportation Network and the New Jersey Department of Health. 

Despite the mix-up, the patient who received the kidney happened to be a match and is doing well, Virtua said.

The medical director and the transplant coordinator also visited the patient who should’ve received the kidney and apologized. That patient also underwent a successful kidney transplant on Sunday and is doing well.

“This is an unprecedented event in our respected 40-plus-year transplant program,” Virtua Health wrote in a statement. “As an organization committed to safety and process, we immediately instituted additional measures and educational reinforcement to help ensure this does not happen again.”

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