Mr. Kim, who is in his 50s this year, lost the function of one of his kidneys about 25 years ago due to vascular stenosis. And in 2014, he was diagnosed with kidney failure at Seoul Catholic University’s St. Mary’s Hospital and started peritoneal dialysis the following year.
To make matters worse, Kim was diagnosed with early kidney cancer in 2019 and removed the remaining kidney from his body.
Due to this condition, Mr. Kim has completely lost kidney function and is unable to urinate. Consequently, Mr. Kim’s body swells in the afternoon because he is unable to release his body by-products, such as urine. Mr. Kim spends eight hours at home every night on peritoneal dialysis to remove moisture and toxins from his body.
Still, Mr. Kim hoped and hoped to get a kidney transplant someday to live a normal life like everyone else.
That’s because he had submitted the documents for a kidney transplant to the hospital during the dialysis procedure in 2015. For Mr. Kim, who lives alone and without a family, the kidney transplant is urgent.
The average waiting time for a kidney transplant is about 5 to 6 years. Mr Kim said that when asked how long he would have to wait for the transplant, the medical team would ask how many years he had been waiting and since his 3rd or 4th year on dialysis, he said he would soon receive a kidney donation.
However, in August last year, Kim, who thought he might have a transplant soon, received shocking news – he was not registered as a kidney transplant candidate.
Mr. Kim said, “When I was admitted six years ago, the hospital said it was necessary to register as a transplant, so I filled out and delivered the proper documentation. but when I recently checked into the hospital, it wasn’t registered.“
This was due to an error made by the hospital. A hospital official explained: “The organ transplant center is in charge of registering candidates for organ transplants, but it appears that Mr. Kim was not registered by mistake in 2015. “
The official said: “The medical team, which confirmed the patient’s intention to register for a transplant, should have handed the information over to the organ transplant center, but did not. We apologize. “
Kim, who belatedly learned of the fact that he was not registered, signed up as a transplant candidate last year. However, according to the Statistical Yearbook for Organ Transplantation and Human Tissue Donation (2019), 25,465 patients await a kidney transplant like Mr. Kim, and the average waiting time for transplants is 2,196 days. therefore, Mr. Kim has to wait another 5 to 6 years.
Kim asked Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and the National Institute for Long-Term Tissue Blood Control, which oversees organ transplants, to adjust his waiting time, but was denied because they said it was impossible.
He also filed a complaint with the hospital, as he will have to wait many years for a kidney transplant due to a hospital error. However, the hospital shows no signs of willingness to correct the error.
In addition, the Medical Dispute Mediation Arbitration Service says there is no way to help with this problem because it is not a medical accident.
St. Mary’s Hospital at Seoul Catholic University offered KRW 20 million (~ $ 18,063.60) in compensation for damages to Mr. Kim, who now has to wait many more years for a kidney transplant.
Mr. Kim said: “I just want related agencies to speak up, acknowledge the mistake the hospital made and correct them. “