Pregnant Women Given Wrong Medication from Safeway Pharmacy

Safeway Pharmacy

In a prescription mix up at a Safeway pharmacy, a pregnant 19 year old woman was given the wrong medication recently. The woman was supposed to receive an antibiotic and instead was given a cancer treatment medication.

The medication, Methotrexate, is used in cancer treatment because it stops cells from dividing. According to physicians, stopping cell division is important for slowing the growth of cancer cells, but is extremely bad for the six week old baby growing inside the woman. During this early stage of the pregnancy, there is a substantial risk of birth defects or miscarriage.

Mareena Silva was given the incorrect medication because her last name is the same as another customers and her first name is similar. The company has offered to cover any medical expenses for Silva, and in a statement said, “We have policies and procedures that were not followed. We are very concerned about how this happened and we are conducting a full and complete investigation.”