Fact Check: Viral message claiming that four kidneys are available for donation is false
A message claiming that the kidneys belonging to two people, who were brain-dead after a road accident, are available for transplantation is doing rounds on social media. The long message in Telugu goes as
Claim :
Four kidneys belonging to two people are available for donationFact :
The message is an old hoax, no kidneys are available
A message claiming that the kidneys belonging to two people, who were brain-dead after a road accident, are available for transplantation is doing rounds on social media. The long message in Telugu goes as “ప్రియమైన అందరికి ముఖ్యమైనది, 4 కిడ్నీలు అందుబాటులో ఉన్నాయి. నిన్న ప్రమాదానికి గురైన మా స్నేహితుడు సుధీర్ మరియు అతని భార్య (నా స్నేహితుడి సేవా సహోద్యోగులు) మరణించిన కారణంగా, డాక్టర్ వారిని బ్రెయిన్ డెడ్‌గా ప్రకటించారు. Mr. సుధీర్ B+ మరియు అతని భార్య O+. అతని కుటుంబం మానవత్వం కోసం వారి కిడ్నీలను దానం చేయాలని కోరుకుంటుంది .Plz circulate.
9837285283 9581544124, 8977775312 లో సంప్రదించాలి, మరొక Group కి ఫార్వార్డ్ చేయండి, ఇది ఎవరికైనా సహాయం చేయగలదు. గ్రూప్ సభ్యులు ఒక్కసారి ఈ msg చూడండి. Iite తీసుకునే మ్యాటర్ కాదు. ఇంత గొప్ప సహాయం చేసే ఆ కుటుంబాలకు ఎంత కృతజ్ఞతలు చెప్పినా తక్కువే. ”
When translated, it claims that “Important for all dear ones, 4 kidneys are available. Due to the death of our friend Sudhir and his wife (my friend's colleagues) in an accident yesterday, the doctor declared them brain dead. Mr. Sudhir is B+ and his wife is O+. His family wants to donate their kidneys for humanity. Plz circulate.
Contact on 9837285283, 9581544124, 8977775312. Forward to another group, it might help someone. Group members see this msg once. Not a matter to be taken Iite. It is not enough to thank those families who help so much”
Fact Check:
The claim is False. The message is a hoax. When we performed a keyword search, we found that this message has been online for many years.
Here is a post from X published in November 2022.
Here is an X post from August 2019.
We also found a post in English that was published in August 2018. The message has the same names and also the same phone numbers.
Here is another X post published in October 2017 with the same names and phone number.
According to an article by The Hindu, the first phone number belonged to a nephrologist named Sandeep Garg in Meerut. After these messages went viral, the phone number had been ringing non-stop with inquiries about the kidney. The report also stated that the officials from the national organ and Tissue Transplant organization have contacted Dr Garg to inquire about the viral message and declared that the message is a hoax and police have started an investigation.
According to the New Indian Express article that was published in May 2018, officials of Jeevandan, the state government’s cadaver organ donation program clearly state that such transplantations cannot happen just based on goodwill. Any organ donation has to go through the Appropriate Authority, constituted as per the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (TOHA) - 1994. These Acts and rules were put in place to curb the commercialization of the process and exploitation of the poor.
National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation is a national-level organization set up under the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. It functions as an apex centre for all India activities of coordination and networking for procurement, allocation and distribution of organs and tissues and registry of organs and tissues donation and transplantation in the country.
Hence, the viral message is a hoax circulating online since 2017. The claim is False.
