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Friday, March 29, 2024

Patient killed by infected organ after surgeon’s error

Oxford – A patient was killed and another nearly died after they received contaminated organ transplants due to a blunder by an NHS surgeon.

The surgeon was removing the kidneys, liver and pancreas of a donor when he accidentally cut the stomach – spilling its contents on to the other organs.

This meant they became infected with the fungal infection Candida albicans. However, the surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust failed to record the incident so the organs – meant for chronically ill patients – went on to be used.

They were transplanted into three patients. One, aged 36, died of an aneurysm caused directly by infection from the donated liver. A second, a 25-year-old parent with two young children, had an emergency operation to remove their transplanted kidney and has been left in ‘constant pain’. A third patient, 44, who had a combined kidney and pancreas transplant, fell ill but recovered.

The incident came to light only after surgeons at Cardiff & Vale University Health Board raised the alarm with the Human Tissue Authority and the Welsh government.

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