A 59-year-old woman has had her reproductive organs removed by mistake as a result of a blunder at Pok Oi Hospital, which involved the mixing of her biopsy samples with that of a cancer patient.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, the hospital confirmed that the contamination had resulted in the woman being wrongly diagnosed with endometrial cancer.

She underwent surgery last month to remove her uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes, but subsequent re-examination found no cancer cells in her tissues.

Pok Oi Hospital has apologised to the patient and her family regarding the incident, adding that the staff members concerned will be assigned to take up other duties pending a detailed probe into the case.