A Gaffney woman filed suit in Cherokee County Court of Common Pleas this week, alleging a mail order pharmacy's improper switching of medication led to the rejection of a transplanted kidney.

According to the lawsuit, Grace Wright underwent a kidney transplant and required a certain drug to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ. After seeing advertisements for Liberty Medical Supply, which represented it could provide medical supplies at low costs, the lawsuit says Wright began purchasing supplies from the firm. Eventually, the lawsuit claims, Liberty Medical advised Wright that it would be more convenient and economical if she also were to purchase her anti-rejection medication from the firm as well.

At all times before she began purchasing her medications from Liberty Medical, the lawsuit claims Wright was taking the anti-rejection drugs Cyclosporine Modified or Modified Cyclosporine.

On or about March 30, 2006, however, the lawsuit claims Liberty Medical sold non-modified Cyclosporine to Wright and continued to provide that drug going forward.

The lawsuit claims that as a result of the medication change, Wright suffered kidney rejection and loss of kidney function and has had to undergo kidney dialysis.

The suit claims the pharmaceutical company should have known it was "inappropriate, negligent and below the accepted standard of care" to provide the non-modified form of the drug and to change brands for a patient such as Wright.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are Liberty Medical Supply Inc., doing business as Liberty Medical Supply Pharmacy, and corporate parents PolyMedica Corporation and Medco Health Solutions Inc.