L.A. HOSPITAL TRANSPLANTS KIDNEY INTO WRONG PERSON

WRONG PATIENT GOT KIDNEY
AT USC UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

www.latimes.com - USC University Hospital halted kidney transplants last month after a kidney was accidentally transplanted into the wrong patient, according to a spokesman for the program that coordinates organ transplants in Los Angeles. The patient who received the wrong kidney escaped harm, apparently because the kidney happened to be an acceptable match, said Bryan Stewart, spokesman for the program, OneLegacy, which was notified of the error by the hospital. The hospital, which performs about two transplants a week, confirmed in a statement that it had voluntarily halted transplants Jan. 29 after a “process error” was discovered. The hospital did not detail the nature of the error and declined to answer questions. It said no patients were harmed. The mix-up apparently occurred after two kidneys, from separate donors, arrived at the transplant center around the same time on Jan. 29, a Saturday.

After USC realized its mistake, the organ procurement organization used blood samples it had on reserve to conduct what is known as a “cross-match” - a test to see if the transplanted kidney was compatible with the person who received it. A mismatched organ can be deadly. As it turned out, the patient was not harmed, largely because the donor’s blood type was O, which is universally accepted. The organ procurement organization found an acceptable recipient for the other kidney. It was transplanted into a patient at another local hospital, Stewart said. The intended recipient of the misplaced kidney received another organ a few days later. The hospital said transplants may resume as early as Friday.


A kidney was accidentally transplanted in a wrong patient at USC University Hospital in the USA. It was a deadly error but fortunately the patient who was given the wrong kidney did not have any complications as the kidney was a compatible match. The original intended recipient of this misplaced kidney received another one after few days. Apparently the mix-up happened because two kidneys from separate donors came to the transplant center around the same time. Despite our good intentions, all of us - as conditioned souls - are liable to be contaminated with the fourfold defects of: (1) bhrama (‘the tendency to error’), (2) pramada (‘inattention’), (3) karanapatava (‘the inadequacy of the senses’) and (4) vipralipsa (‘the desire to deceive’).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Vaisnava philosophers have discovered that all the mistakes we are guilty of making originate from (1) error, (2) inebriation, (3) the shortcomings of our senses and (4) an inclination to deceive others, and by these our boldest and strongest thoughts are lost. (1) We mistake infamy for renown, and ruin for benefit. (2) We misunderstand something when the brightest rays of truth shine in vain upon our mind. (3) The senses we use for observation are always defective and incapable of giving us a perfect view of what we have observed. (4) A general inclination for deception creeps into our heart when we take a one sided view and establish facts or theories with the greatest assurance. All people are subject to fall victim to these defects. The only exception is God Almighty and His associate counterparts, who remain within the Absolute Truth.

Śrīla Bhakti Saranga Mahārāj :
"God-realization"
"Omnipotent God Beyond Error"
A Lecture Published in Śrī Sajjana-tosanī Patrikā,
Vol. IV, No. 11 (June 1959) - Rays of The Harmonist No 13 Karttika 2003
Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library - http://bvml.org/SBSGM/index.html