Hospital Enacts New Policies in Wake of Accidental Donor Kidney Disposal

Healthcare risk managers may be interested in a September 26, 2012, Insurance Journal article that discusses the investigation of an incident at an Ohio hospital in which an operating room (OR) nurse accidentally disposed of a recently procured donor kidney by flushing it down a toilet. According to the article, administrative staff members at the hospital have been unable to determine how the nurse was able to take the kidney, which was packed in a 13-gallon bag of slush meant to extend its viability, past several members of the medical staff without them noticing a problem.