Image of a refrigerator for illustrative purposes only. [Getty Images Bank]
Image of a refrigerator for illustrative purposes only. [Getty Images Bank]

A Seoul nursing home has come under fire after storing an amputated patient's toe in a shared refrigerator alongside food items.

According to a KBS report Wednesday, the hospital placed the severed toe of a patient in their 60s, identified only as A, in a disposable porridge container and left it in a communal refrigerator. A's child discovered it during a visit to the hospital. The refrigerator also contained food items belonging to other patients, including ssamjang — a Korean fermented paste — and beverages labeled with patients' names.

A, who has an intellectual disability, has lived at the nursing home for 10 years. The hospital said A fell while being transported in a wheelchair for a bath in March, and the toe — already undergoing necrosis due to a skin condition — was severed in the incident. It remained in the hospital refrigerator for two weeks without being disposed of.

When A's child complained to the hospital, a staff member reportedly responded, "Then where should we have stored it?" and "Since we are a nursing home, we don't have a suitable container."

Under the Waste Management Act, medical waste — including human tissue — must be placed in designated containers and collected and transported separately from other waste. Storing medical waste alongside ordinary food items may also violate the Food Sanitation Act.

The hospital said the incident occurred when a nurse hastily stored the toe, and added that the disposal procedure had been carried out properly.

The controversy over how nursing homes handle amputated body parts is not new. In a separate case, a leg amputated from a patient in their 80s at an Incheon nursing home was found at a recycling center.

In that case, the hospital had wrapped the amputated leg in bandages and placed it in a designated medical waste container. A volunteer helping with hospital cleaning, however, mistook the leg for cast waste and placed it in a recycling bag.

Police found fault with the hospital for storing the leg in a general medical waste container rather than a designated container for human tissue waste, and for failing to keep it refrigerated at or below 4 degrees Celsius as required. They referred the head nurse and other hospital staff to prosecutors.


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