B.C. woman suing Interior Health after tendon transplant mix-up

A 61-year-old B.C. woman has filed a civil suit after a disturbing mix-up at East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook.

Marilyn Rogers used to work as a heavy equipment operator but is now on compensation and unemployed.

In 2021, Rogers underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in her knee, agreeing to receive an allograft tendon from a cadaver.

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One month later, Interior Health told her the tendon had been stored improperly, which resulted in her getting the operation a second time.

“I was kind of horrified to say the least,” Rogers told Global News.

Lawyer John Rice, who is representing Rogers, said the incident raises major questions.

“The concern for her as a result of that was the prospect of an increased risk of infection based on the improperly store allograft as well as material breakdown of the tendon itself,” he said.

Interior Health declined comment, but a letter to Rogers acknowledges fault.

“The error resulted from confusion regarding the appropriate compartment of a new refrigerator/freezer unit to store the allograft,” the letter states in part.

“The allograft should have been stored in the freezer at a temperature of between minus 20 and minus 40 degrees Celsius … Accidentally the allograft was placed in the refrigerator section at a temperature of three degrees Celsius.”

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Rice said medical refrigeration units are designed to keep tendons and human organs from cadavers at cold temperatures specifically to ensure they can safely be implanted.

“Here unfortunately, operationally, the lawsuit alleges, things fell through the cracks,” he said.

Rogers, who used to live in Sparwood, B.C., said she has since been forced to move.

“Now I’m not independent anymore,” she said. “That’s why I’m with my daughter in Calgary until I figure this all out.”

The lawsuit is seeking damages for lost earnings, future care and pain and suffering.

A statement of defence from the health authority acknowledges improper storage of the body part but denies the plaintiff has suffered any injury, loss or damage.