It is reported that a nurse accidentally disposed of a kidney from a living donor! The University of Toledo Medical Center suspended the program after the botched transplant earlier this month.
A kidney removed from a Toledo man at the University of Toledo Medical Center that was supposed to be transplanted into his older sister was instead 
thrown away with medical waste by a nurse – a rare accident that is probably a one-of-a-kind incident in the United States.
Hospital officials talked about the incident that rendered the donated kidney ruined, but they refused for a second day to confirm multiple reports about how the removed organ was damaged beyond repair.
http://www.toledoblade.com/Medical/2012/08/24/UTMC-nurse-tossed-out-kidney-ruined-it.html
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Seemingly, there are many more transplant kidneys fining their way to the clinical waste container instead or the intended recipient.
‘Significant’ number of donor kidneys discarded as medical waste, experts say. No doubt some will have been found not to be suitable for transplantation though this should never be a last minute surprise thanks to a detailed pre-op assessment of both donor and recipient. Other explanted kidneys may be damaged during surgery though that would hopefully be a rarity. So, why so many?
In 2011, 4,720 people in the US died while waiting for a kidney transplant – yet over each of the past five years, government data indicates more than 2,600 kidneys recovered from deceased donors were discarded without being transplanted, The New York Times reported.
“While some organs do have unexpected problems that make them not viable for transplants, doctors told the New York Times that a “significant number” of discarded kidneys – even up to half – could be transplanted if there was a better system to allocate the kidneys to better-matched recipients. So, it seems more cadaveric kidneys are harvested than can be transplanted due to the limitations of systems to identify a suitable donor. With little time between removal and transplant – cold ischaemia time – the clock is ticking and without an effective joined-up nationwide system to match donor and recipient organs are wasted.
We can be reassured that in teh UK and Europe, this situation should be almost unknown. Eurotransplant and its individual national schemes co-ordinate donor/recipient matching across Europe making sure that every transplant organ reaches the most suitable recipient in the shortest possible time and best possible condition.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/09/20/ignificant-number-donor-kidneys-discarded-as-medical-waste-experts-say/#ixzz27AwbWgyh
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/09/20/ignificant-number-donor-kidneys-discarded-as-medical-waste-experts-say/#ixzz27AwE8PZT
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/09/20/ignificant-number-donor-kidneys-discarded-as-medical-waste-experts-say/#ixzz27Avl98Ct