A PROBE has been launched into how Ireland's largest children's hospital, Our Lady's in Crumlin, Dublin, removed the wrong kidney from a child in what administrators have called "a regrettable medical error."The child, believed to be a four-year-old boy, was left with a diseased kidney after the healthy one was removed, and he now faces lifelong dialysis unless a donor can be found.The tragedy prompted widespread fury. Fine Gael's Dr. James Reilly, the main opposition health spokesman, said, "It is very, very serious and an awful tragedy for the family. It is just a nightmare."Our health service is in such a shambles, and something like this just shatters people's confidence."Labor's health spokeswoman Jan O'Sullivan demanded assurances that no stone would be unturned in investigating just how the error occurred."While I would accept that private aspects of this case must remain private, any findings of an investigation that indicates that there may have been systems failures or other shortcomings should be published. If there are broader lessons to be learned, they should be made public," she said.Mark Murphy, chief executive of the Irish Kidney Association, said he was horrified at what had happened, as the hospital and the family obviously were also."It possibly reflects a very pressurized health system and obviously people under pressure are more liable to make mistakes," he said.A patients' lobby group called for the resignation of Health Minister Mary Harney. Patients Together spokeswoman Janette Byrne said, "This leaves patients and parents of children going in for tests and x-rays concerned and worried and wondering what has happened."Byrne claimed that a culture within the health service of lack of accountability means there will be lots of questions without any answers.But Harney said she has confidence that an internal inquiry at the hospital will establish what went wrong. If it doesn't, she added, there may have to be an investigation by an independent authority.The boy, who remains anonymous at the request of the family, has been discharged and has returned to school. According to administrators, the family are happy that he remains a patient of the hospital and will receive follow-up care there.The hospital confirmed that "a significant and regrettable medical error occurred recently in relation to a patient."A statement added, "An internal review was initiated and continues to completion in relation to the facts surrounding the error. The board of directors of the hospital will consider the detail of the review and act where appropriate."The parents of the patient were immediately informed of the incident. The family were and continue to be given full support by the hospital staff. The staff of Our Lady's have reiterated to the family our sincere apologies for this most unfortunate error.The mistake, details of which emerged last weekend, occurred in recent weeks when doctors at the hospital went to remove a diseased or malfunctioning kidney from the child but mistakenly removed the healthy kidney instead.