Patient's Severed Leg from Incheon Nursing Hospital Mistakenly Disposed of with Recycling Waste

An amputated leg, stored after surgery at a nursing hospital in Incheon, was mistakenly disposed of with recycling waste by a volunteer, leading to its discovery at an incineration facility. The leg had been kept in a dedicated medical waste container at a nursing hospital in Jung-gu, Incheon, following the amputation surgery of an 80-year-old patient, identified as A.

However, it was found that a 60-year-old male volunteer at the hospital mistook it for plaster cast waste and placed it in a recycling bag. The severed leg was discovered during recyclables sorting at the Southern Area Wide Resource Recovery Center in Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, around 2:28 PM on the 10th, and an employee reported it to the police.

Following the incident, police began an initial investigation, but the case found its breakthrough on the 17th when the nursing hospital voluntarily reported the matter. The hospital's head nurse confirmed the facts after seeing the news, and the facility manager filed a formal report. Police have requested DNA analysis from the National Forensic Service to confirm the leg belongs to patient A.

Currently, police are comprehensively investigating the hospital's medical waste management practices, as well as potential illegal surgeries and violations of medical law. Current regulations stipulate that medical waste, including human tissue, must be collected and transported in a strictly segregated state within dedicated containers, and failure to comply can result in legal penalties. This incident highlights loopholes in medical waste management and raises questions about patient dignity and safety.