As news of “illegal organ transplants involving children” continues to circulate on the internet, social media platforms have recently been widely sharing multiple videos related to organ donation by minors. Under the influence of multiple overlapping pieces of information, parents in various parts of mainland China have expressed fears for their children’s safety at school on social media, openly stating their intentions to stop sending their children to school. A wave of emotions centered around “staying out of school to stay alive” is spreading in online comment sections.
On platforms such as WeChat, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, comments from parents about “not letting children go to school” are no longer sporadic but are accumulating in a relay format. On January 22, a netizen named “Zhu Gege” posted a video saying, “My daughter will not be going to school starting tomorrow. She is 14 years old, whether she becomes successful or not no longer matters, as long as she can grow up safely, healthily, and happily.” This comment quickly garnered numerous responses.
A netizen, Mr. Zhang, commented: “My son is 16 years old, staying at home safe and sound is all that matters.” A netizen named “Orange Used to Solitude” wrote: “My son is also quitting school, can’t compete with them, as long as he’s alive, that’s all that matters.” Another netizen mentioned, “My 15-year-old daughter has stopped going to school and started working on her own. I don’t care anymore, feeling cold inside, as long as she’s alive, nothing else matters.” These related comments received a large number of likes.
Lawyer Zhang from Hubei pointed out in an interview with Epoch Times that the current panic among parents is not based on any specific event but is a concentrated response to the erosion of trust in the Chinese Communist regime. He said, “I have also seen news circulating online regarding the mysterious deaths of children and other public incidents. In a system where information is opaque and power is unchecked, the public has no way to confirm the truth or hold anyone accountable. There is a huge difference between official narratives and public perceptions.”
He believes that the Chinese authorities have long avoided independent oversight and suppressed questioning voices, leaving parents to assess risks based on fragmented information from the internet. He said, “For example, stumbling upon news that someone’s child disappeared during school, died from being beaten at school, or inexplicably died in the hospital the next day. When a child’s basic safety cannot be guaranteed at school, parents can only choose self-protective measures and bring their children home. This behavior itself is a vote of no confidence in this system.”
Discussions around unified school health check-ups are also intense. A netizen named “One Sheep” wrote, “Don’t undergo check-ups, don’t go to provincial hospitals, we haven’t had check-ups for many years.” A parent from Guangzhou said, “In first grade, schools conduct unified health check-ups, and a few days ago, the kids had two tubes of blood drawn.” Another netizen, “Metropolis,” replied, “Hundreds of students line up for check-ups, blood drawn, blood pressure measured, height and weight recorded. When we were young, we didn’t need blood drawn during check-ups.”
Many netizens equate sending children to school with their safety and lives. A Douyin user wrote, “My daughter is not going to school, afraid of losing her life at school.” Followed by another netizen’s response, “Me too, didn’t go to school yesterday (January 21).”
The reporter noted that in some recent comments, the fears of netizens have been further amplified. A netizen named “Master of Fengmu” wrote, “Quickly bring your child back home, life is more important, this is about blood type matching, when a match is made, the child disappears.” Another netizen, “Ten Chains,” commented, “A child’s life is more important than studying, in this society, criminals have set their sights on children.”
On January 20, the public WeChat account “Chinese Organ Donation” released a video related to organ donation involving minors and newly turned adults. The video shows a recently turned 18-year-old teenager donating organs after death, with medical staff inside the operating room bowing in tribute. The video also includes scenes of a birthday cake, organ donation certificates, sparking discussions among netizens.
In addition, several screenshots of past campus activities have been circulating on social media platforms. One image shows multiple students wearing school uniforms standing in line indoors, holding signs with phrases like “organ donation” and “sacrificing life” written on them, with the school auditorium or activity room in the background. These screenshots have been brought back to light and widely shared recently.
Mr. Wang, a parent in Wuhan, expressed to the reporter that it was these recurring images and promotions that made him uneasy about the educational content his child was exposed to at school. “My wife and I have decided to stop our child’s school lessons, not sending them to school, but having them study at home. We are worried that in situations where judgment is lacking, our child would be forced to sign an organ donation certificate.”
In the past month, there have been numerous compilation posts on social media platforms both domestically and internationally, focusing on recent cases of accidental student deaths, including sudden deaths, falling from buildings, drowning during school hours or on their way to and from school. Such information is frequently reposted and has become one of the important bases for some parents to assess risks.