Kidney transplant cancelled after Royal Adelaide Hospital fire sprinklers activate mid-surgery

Frank Lopresto was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy — an autoimmune disease that attacks the kidneys — 14 years ago.

The 53-year-old started dialysis in 2019 and has been on the kidney donor waiting list for three-and-a-half years.

On Monday he received a phone call telling him a suitable match was available.

“A really good match with your tissue type, your blood group, because I’m not a very common blood type, and he was a very fit, young, healthy man,” Mr Lopresto said.

“So I jumped at the chance, I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll take it.’”

Mr Lopresto went into surgery on Wednesday afternoon, but when he woke up he was told the transplant had not gone ahead because the sprinklers had gone off mid-procedure.

“I was still heavily sedated so I thought it was a dream,” he said.

But as he came to, Mr Lopresto said hospital staff explained the water had contaminated the donor kidney, so it could not be used.

Not only that, but they had already made an incision into Mr Lopresto that needed to be disinfected.