Mistranslation's Tragic Consequences

31-Aug-2011

We at Technical Translations are always stressing the importance of getting your translations done by experts in the field – and we’re not just talking linguistics. Our translators are all handpicked as experts in particular fields of enterprise alongside their linguistic skills, whether it be marketing or medicine, because we know that mistakes can cost lives.
 
Take the recent slip-up in a couple of prestigious Taiwanese hospitals where it is reported that due to a translation error, no less than five patients received organs donated by an HIV positive donor. Although tests were carried out previous to the organs being harvested and the donor was discovered to be HIV positive, a fact unknown even to his family who allowed the donations to take place, information was incorrectly relayed to the surgeons who went ahead with operations on five patients who were waiting for organs.

Each of the hospitals has subsequently been fined $150,000 Taiwanese dollars for negligence and face criminal charges if the patients contract HIV from the transplants, but better communication in English could have saved lives. According to some sources an English translation “wasn’t double checked”, and a lab technician’s description of the donor who was HIV reactive may have been understood as HIV negative by a co-ordinator.

Tragic occurrences such as this only serve to highlight the importance of both clear communicationand accuracy in translation. Which is why Technical Translations assign a project manager to every translation job we handle, to liaise with the client and get a feel for what is required first-hand, - and why our translators are always experts in the field.

 

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