Man's good kidney taken out in error

Auslan Cramb
London Telegraph
Mar. 17, 2006

Doctors admitted yesterday that they removed a healthy kidney from a cancer patient by mistake.

John Heron, a garage owner in his sixties, was in hospital to have a diseased kidney removed. The wrong one was taken out in what NHS Ayrshire and Arran described as a "tragic error".

Surgeons will now have to operate for a second time to remove the kidney that was found to have a tumour. Mr Heron will then have to hope for a kidney transplant or face dialysis treatment for the rest of his life.

His family, of Lugton, Ayrshire, said: "We are devastated by the disastrous professional errors that should never have happened."

His son John said the family wanted to ensure that the error at Ayr Hospital this month could not happen to any other patient.

Dr Bob Masterton, the executive medical director of NHS Ayrshire and Arran, expressed "deep regret". He said: "Our thoughts are with the patient and family, to whom we apologise for this tragic error."