Prosecutors have called for a renewed investigation into a tragic medical error where an O-type emergency patient died after receiving A-type blood.
Legal sources revealed on Wednesday that the Seoul Northern District Prosecutor’s Office requested the Seongbuk Police Station to reopen the case of alleged negligent homicide by university hospital medical staff on August 21.
The incident occurred in September 2024 when a woman in her 50s, identified as Ms. A, was rushed to a Seoul university hospital’s emergency room in cardiac arrest.
The medical team, determining that an emergency transfusion was necessary, conducted a blood type test. The results indicated A-type blood, which was then administered. However, it was later discovered that Ms. A’s actual blood type was O.
Police investigations uncovered that during the initial blood typing process, another patient’s blood sample was mistakenly sent to the lab instead of Ms. A’s. The error occurred when emergency center nurses, working collaboratively, failed to follow proper verification procedures.
Ms. A’s condition deteriorated, and she passed away approximately a month later. Her family subsequently filed a negligent homicide complaint against the medical staff.
On August 14, the Seongbuk Police concluded their investigation, deciding not to press charges against the medical personnel.
While acknowledging the transfusion of incorrect blood type due to mishandling during the verification process, the police found it challenging to establish a direct causal link between the medical staff’s negligence and Ms. A’s death.
They also took into account the high-pressure circumstances at the time, including understaffing in the emergency room due to a resident doctors’ strike and an influx of critically ill patients.
Reports suggest that Ms. A’s pre-existing conditions of cardiac arrest, pulmonary embolism, and hypovolemic shock made it difficult to determine if she would have survived even with the correct blood type.
After reviewing the police investigation records, prosecutors deemed further inquiry necessary and requested a reinvestigation. The police are now preparing to reexamine the case as per the prosecution’s directive.