A message is doing rounds on social media with a claim that four kidneys are available for donation as two people had an accident and were declared brain dead. Three contact numbers are also mentioned in the message
The post on Facebook reads: Dear all, Important, 4 Kidneys Available. Due to Death of our friend Mr Sudhir And His Wife (Service Colleagues of my Friend) Who Met With an Accident Yesterday, Doctor Has Declared Them Brain Dead. Mr.Sudhir is B+ and His Wife O+. His Family Wants to Donate Their Kidneys for Humanity .Plz Circulate. Contact 9837285283 9581544124 8977775312 Forward to Another Group, It Could Help Someone..
The link to the above post can be found here. More posts can be seen here and here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the post and found the claim to be false.
We did a Google search with the relevant keywords and found the same message on a website, YourQuote, published on May 2, 2018.
We also found the same message and contact number in a post on Facebook and Twitter published four years ago in October 2017.
NewsMobile contacted the numbers on the list and found that two out of three numbers were out of service. We were however able to contact one person on the list, Dr Sandeep Kumar Garg, who is a Nephrologist in Meerut. He told NewsMobile that the message is fake and has been going around for years.
We also found a report by The Time of India that stated that one cannot advertise or solicit organ donation in this manner as it is illegal as per the Human Organ Transplant Act 1994.
It further stated that if one wishes to donate, the treating doctor has to be informed. In the event of suspected brain death of a patient, the hospital must get its panel to examine and verify brain death. Only then can the issue of organ donation be pursued. Advertising for the sale of organs is prohibited and is considered a criminal offence.
If you want to fact-check any story, WhatsApp it now on +91 11 7127 9799
Error: Contact form not found.