A social media post that shares a compassionate story of a little boy donating blood to his twin sister, believing that the procedure would kill him is being widely shared across social media platforms. The story is apparently from a surgeon named Jim Clark and is being shared as a real incident. Through this article, let’s fact-check the veracity of the story shared in the post.
Claim: A compassionate, real story of a little boy donating blood to his twin sister, believing that the procedure would kill him.
Fact: This is not a real story but a made up one. This is evident from the fact that, in most countries, the age limit to donate blood is 18 and few countries permit 16 –17 year olds to donate provided they fulfil the necessary conditions. Contrary to this fact, the post highlights that a little boy donated blood, which could not be true. As per Snopes, a similar story has been going around since at least the 1920s. A 1925 Mary Pickford film, Little Annie Rooney featured a similar story of a 12-year old girl offering blood to her brother, even though she thought the procedure would kill her. Even a 1993 book titled ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ also carried a similar story in line with the viral one. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
As per WHO, the minimum age limit for blood donation in most of the countries is 18 and few countries permit 16 –17 year olds to donate, provided they fulfil the necessary conditions. Contrary to this fact, the purported story by a doctor claims that a little boy donated blood, which cannot be true.
Moreover, a similar story has been doing rounds since at least the 1920s. As per Snopes, a 1925 Mary Pickford film, ‘Little Annie Rooney’ featured a similar story of a 12 year old girl offering blood transfusion to her brother, even after believing that the procedure would kill her.
Further, a 1993 book titled ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’, a compilation of short stories by Dan Millman (here) also featured a tale titled ‘On Courage’ in line with the viral claim.
Although we could not trace the exact origin of the story, the available evidence suggests that the story is not inspired from a real incident but is a made up.
To sum it up, this compassionate story of a little boy donating blood to his sister is not inspired by a real incident.
