Employees at a well-known general hospital just outside Seoul handed over approximately 4,000 blood samples of patients to a local medical supplier without patients’ consent for two years, it was revealed Wednesday.

The hospital, CHA Bundang Medical Center in Seongnam, wasn’t aware of the irregularity until a former staff member blew the whistle last month. It said it has fired the three employees involved in the illegal transfer of blood samples.

“We will also improve the current medical waste disposal system in order to strengthen the management of patients’ medical test samples and records,” an official of CHA Bundang Medical Center said Wednesday.   

Yet, public concerns have surfaced over how medical waste is handled and disposed of at hospitals. As well as ethical concerns, the waste also poses safety risks, as it can carry infectious diseases.

The Bundang-based hospital is a highly rated medical center that receives at least 1,000 patients daily for blood tests. It belongs to the CHA Group, one of the most successful brands in the country’s medical services scene.

“I have frequently visited large-scale or renowned hospitals with images of respectability and trustworthiness, so I’m very disappointed at those hospitals,” said a 30-something man surnamed Hong, who recently visited the CHA Medical Center in Gangnam.

“No one can guarantee whether my personal medical records or genetic information are completely disposed after medical tests, since there is no method for patients to ask about the disposal” Son Young-mi, another patient, told the Korea Herald.

According to the hospital, three employees secretly sent some 4,000 units of 10-milliliter blood samples to a biomedical company in Suwon instead of disposing of them after the tests.

Employees sent 200 blood samples at a time each month to aid the firm in its research and experiments. They claim to have received no kickbacks in return and to have provided nothing else other than the blood. The personal information that was taped on the blood sample containers was removed before the transfer, they said.

The current Medical Service Act states that blood or urine samples are considered medical waste once the examination is done and should be disposed of within two to three days. They must be handled with strict adherence to related guidelines, it stipulates. 

The hospital said that it was difficult to detect the breach of rules because one of the employees involved in the case was a head manager in charge of medical waste disposal. That person is said to have been close to one of the employees of the biomedical company. 

Health authorities said that it had requested a police investigation on the case to find out whether any medical data was leaked or monetary rewards were offered for handing over the blood samples.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)