A tragedy unfolded at Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University as the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of intern doctor Luo Shuaiyu remain unresolved. Recently, a female graduate student surnamed Sun at Xiangya Hospital plunged into a river and was found deceased, with what appears to be a suicide note circulating online.
According to the website of the Health Commission of Hunan Province, on March 16, a joint investigative team issued a situation report: on March 14, 2026, at 9:57 PM, Sun, a graduate student of the 2023 class at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, went missing after leaving the dormitory. At 11:26 PM, the hospital received notice from the police that a person had fallen into the river near Orange Isle Bridge. Around 4:00 PM on the 15th, the body was retrieved from the river with no signs of life, and it was confirmed to be the missing student, Sun.
Authorities have formed a joint investigation team to look into the “circumstances circulating on the internet.”
The official report did not mention Sun’s name; it was customary for Sun, a graduate student of the 2023 class, to be interning at the hospital, yet this detail was omitted in the report.
A purported suicide note from a female graduate student surnamed Sun has surfaced online. In a chat post dated March 14, she described being driven to suicide by her mentor. She mentioned being saved after attempting to jump off a building, only to be forcibly admitted to a psychiatric ward. Her mentor warned that if she caused trouble again, she would not be released from the mental hospital.
“I regret the most in my life choosing Xiangya as the school for further studies and selecting Gu Xping as my research supervisor. Since October 2024, I have repeatedly informed the counselor, academic affairs office, and all higher-ups I could contact. The tasks assigned by my mentor have severely affected my normal training work and made it difficult for me to continue working under the criticism and scolding from both the teaching and mentor sides.”
The post concluded with, “I love psychiatry and have no regrets. It’s just that I can’t be a psychiatric doctor anymore. I might indeed be a coward! I’m sorry to myself who once couldn’t memorize books and cried, to my father, to my classmates. But I really can’t take it anymore. The mentor said if I cause trouble again, don’t expect to leave the mental hospital. I want to die as a normal person.”
Following the incident, the chat group was disbanded, allegedly at the request of the counselor who was the group administrator, urging everyone not to spread the above information.
Netizens expressed sentiments such as, “Sometimes it’s not that the children are fragile, but the environment is too harsh, pushing people to a corner.” “Regardless of the outcome, this young life can never return, which is truly a great tragedy.” “The current medical environment is unfriendly to young people, with heavy workload, minimal pay, and being scapegoated.” “The previous controversies at Xiangya Second Hospital have not fully subsided, and now another incident at the hospital raises serious questions about the management of the entire Xiangya system.”
Public records indicate that the Xiangya Medical College of Central South University is located in Changsha, Hunan, with several core tertiary hospitals directly affiliated or subsidiary under the Xiangya system, including Xiangya Hospital (First affiliated Xiangya/Lao Xiangya), Xiangya Second Hospital (Second affiliated Xiangya/Nan Xiangya), and Xiangya Third Hospital (Third affiliated Xiangya/New Xiangya).
On May 8, 2024, Luo Shuaiyu, an intern doctor and master’s student in the Kidney Transplant Department at Xiangya Second Hospital, fell to his death in the dormitory building. The police initially ruled it as a suicide, but his parents found signs of struggle in the dormitory and suspected foul play.
After Luo Shuaiyu’s death, his parents recovered his phone and computer data and found over 1,000 pieces of evidence indicating illegal organ trafficking within the hospital. Luo Shuaiyu had collected extensive evidence before his death, accusing Xiangya Second Hospital of engaging in illegal organ harvesting and trafficking, specifically implicating the deputy director Liu Xiangfeng and the director of the transplant department in medical corruption. He refused to participate in finding 12 children aged 3 to 9 as organ donors, which led to conflicts with the hospital.
Under public pressure, on June 13, 2025, Hunan authorities issued a joint investigation report maintaining that Luo Shuaiyu died by suicide, ruling out homicide, and denying the allegations of organ harvesting made by him. However, Luo Shuaiyu’s father, Luo Fuxiang, and other relatives stated their determination to continue seeking the truth.