University of Minnesota bioethicist says protecting patient privacy is most important

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University of Minnesota officials are apologizing today for a breach of patient confidentiality. University of Minnesota researchers mistakenly revealed the names of deceased organ donors to 410 patients who received kidneys. Organ donor names are supposed to be kept secret from the people who receive those organs. University officials say the donors were identified because of a glitch in a computer-generated letter sent to recipients participating in a long-term study. Jeffery Kahn is the director of the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics. He says the names of donors are kept private to protect all of the individuals involved:

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